Cerwin A-1800 (circa 1976)
Little is documented about the Cerwin Vega A-1800. Almost everything known comes from a single equipment report in High Fidelity (May 1976, p.60-61), which tested it as a power amplifier and came away impressed. The review's headline called it Cerwin-Vega's smaller 450-watt superamp, which implies a larger sibling existed. The same issue's table of contents lists it plainly as the Cerwin-Vega A-1800 power amplifier. Beyond that, the model has left little trace in the Archive's research. No manuals, brochures, or additional period coverage have surfaced.
The report describes a deliberately minimal amplifier finished in black. It has an on/off switch, a gain control for each channel, a pilot light, and two LEDs per channel flashing at 7% and 100% of full power. No tone controls, no metering. Measured performance was striking for 1976. High-frequency response extended past 100 kHz before falling by 1 dB, the low end was down 1 dB at 8 Hz, damping factor measured 177, and A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio was an excellent 100 dB. The reviewer found damping so high that the speaker, rather than the amplifier, set the limit. The sound was described as free and easy, better than usual from their reference speakers, and it was hard to remember the amplifier was in the chain at all. The 450-watt headline figure is all that survives of the power rating, and the review's test conditions for it aren't fully preserved.
Known specifications from the High Fidelity report:
- Type: two-channel power amplifier (no preamp section)
- Power: 450 watts (per the review's headline; measurement conditions undocumented)
- Frequency response: –1 dB at 8 Hz (low); extends past 100 kHz before –1 dB (high)
- Damping factor: 177
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 100 dB (A-weighted)
- Front panel: black, with on/off switch, per-channel gain controls, pilot light, and two LEDs per channel (7% and 100% power indicators)
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