Celestra VA250 - Two Channel Amplifier

Celestra's VA series represents the best the Audiophile can expect in terms of sound quality without compromise. The VA250 is a no compromise stereo amplifier that delivers true high end audiophile sound in the Car environment. 

Usually when this Customer (often having a great experience in Home Audio and in live music) listens to Car Products, he immediately realises that the sound of such amplifiers is very approximate and unreal. This is the first limit we decided to exceed, spending more than three thousands hours choosing the best solutions to get ahead with VA series.

When we first listened VA210 prototype, our immediate impression was a great emotion, so great that all the R&D pains we endured were well worth it. Our goal had been achieved: to let a Car Audio System sound like a High-End Home System.

Celestra has been successful in realising a kind of natural sound only comparable to that of some very expensive HI-END Home amplifiers. The typical comments of some very expert audiophiles have been: "...It is a very detailed, airy, dynamic sound"; "...It lets the CD sound to be close to that of analog disc recordings";  "...It is very fast, with a very convincing drum".

Both the amplifiers are references in their class of power, hand made in our laboratories in a limited and numbered edition as an outstanding product deserves,  state-of-the-art in Car Audio electronics.

Severe tests, design and components used, let us guarantee for five years the reliability and the running free from anomalies and imperfections. VA series will maintain their rated specifications unchanged for a time even longer than the Car own lifetime!! (we hope the Car manufacturers do not hold it against us!)

We decided to dedicate a list to deepen with right importance, all the efforts we carried out to look for the best, the most reliable and the most expensive components nowadays existing on the suppliers world-wide market. No other Car Audio manufacturer has ever made widely use of these Top brand and Company in the electronic components category.

• Class A input preamplifier fully made with Siliconix© jfets, only Wima© "MKP4" polypropilene capacitors on signal path and input wiring with Monster Cable© "Interlink 300MKII".
• Voltage amplifier totally made with MIL-JAN grade full class A complementary bjts, with auto-regulation of thermal working point.
• Output devices are IR© complementary mosfets, each capable of 180W and continuous 21A.
• Capacitor bank close to output devices is ultra fast and low-ESR, capable of 42 Joule (VA210) of immediately available energy.
• Output wiring speakers by Monster Cable© "OMC".
• Power supply wholly built with Magnetics© MIL-GRADE ferrites, United Chemicon© low-ESR capacitors and IR© power mosfets each capable of continuous 110A.
• 24K gold plated copper with high thickness tracks Printed Circuit Board (top grade FR4 material).
• Thermal dissipation by internal cooling tunnels, integrated and thermoregulated fans.
• Battery supply connectors are Anderson© "Powerpole 80A" for 0.0002 ohm max contact resistance.
• Chassis made by CNC and Laser cut machines, hand brushed natural aluminum, fully inox screw bolts.

The VA250 is derived from our well known VA225, from which it inherits all of its sonic qualities, taking the place of VA225 it make possible more varied use in the car systems. 

Power Supply
Similar to the no compromise approach taken with the VA250; this amplifier has been designed to be capable of supplying (@12V battery) more than 500 W of regulated and clean DC power ready to be used in very short time. It works at a frequency higher than the standard one, to make it more compact, light, insensitive to voltage variations of vehicle, making useless even for this model the presence of large and expensive battery capacitors.

Preamplifier
VA250 makes use of the same FET circuital design of VA210; this preamp can do everything it has been designed for: extreme sound transparency... as it does not exist!

Amplifier
VA 250 can boast of the same unusual design used in the VA210, only used (and seldom) in the Home HI-END environment, not lacking in big complications in design; COMPLETE SEPARATION OF THE SPEAKERS FROM AMPLIFICATION CIRCUIT [Total feedback = 0]. In short, this means an extreme control of speakers driven on outputs, with a realism, a speed and precision in the micro detail.

Protection circuit
VA 250 has simple protection circuit but at the same time intended not to interfere at all with the big and very fast current drive of the speakers (20 Arms peak in less than 1µS). The heat-sink system deserves a separate mention: it is studied to assure a full power running even in conditions of poor ventilation (unfortunately very frequent), avoiding incidental and premature shutdown.

Features

• 2 x 50w rms Nominal Power – 200w rms bridged nominal power
• Speakers fully separate from amplification circuit (total feedback = 0).
• Input stage with A class JFET.
• Polycarbonate capacitors on signal path.
• RCA cinch with teflon insulator
• Power output stage with case TO247 powerMOS for best heat dissipation.
• Power output stage in AAB class, without switch in power devices (non-switching devices)
• Heavy and massive speaker connectors to allow great cable size.
• 500W DC @12V high frequency switching power supply with “virtual battery” ultra fast recovery system.
• Massive silver power battery connectors with very low contact resistance.
• Tri-mode operation (mono+stereo).
• No current limiters, in order to do not clamp requested peak output current.
• Massive aluminium heatsink tunnel devices, with integrated and auto-regulated fans for full power running
• Works at high ambient temperatures.
• Hand brushed and anodised aluminium finish.
• Made in Italy

Specifications

• Continuous Output Nominal Power: both ch. driven from 20 hz to 20 Khz; THD < 0.1%
• 2 x 50W/4ohm @10.5 Vbatt.
• 2 x 100W/2ohm @11.5 Vbatt.
• 1 x 200W/4ohm (bridged) @11.5 Vbatt.
• Frequency Response (-3dB): at 8 Hz and more than 400 KHz (at nominal power into 4 ohm)
• Stereo Separation: 80dB at 1KHz
• SNR: > 120dB "A" Weighted
• Dimensions: 237 x 295 x 66 mm
• Weight: 4.5 Kg

Support

• Datasheet