Copland is a Danish company that has been developing, manufacturing and distributing high-quality Hi-End equipment since 1984. The product range includes a series of tube and transistor power amplifiers for every taste. Copland was founded by Danish engineer Ole Moller, who spent his entire life striving to make ideal audio power amplifiers based on tube circuitry and named his company after the American composer Aaron Copland. The design of the equipment is restrained and laconic, in a traditional Scandinavian style; the lamps are not deliberately displayed, as in models from other manufacturers. The refined, smooth sound of Copland amplifiers, high reliability and amazing build quality have become the hallmark of this brand and contributed to its rapid success among amateurs and professionals around the world.
The production, located in the center of Copenhagen, is very small – all equipment is assembled by hand by five qualified craftsmen. Despite this, Copland amplifiers and CD players are known throughout the world. Ole prefers to build amplifiers using tubes, although he does not display them. Although Copland amplifiers typically use tubes as active elements, we have never strived to achieve what is called a “tube sound.” Precise amplifiers can be created using both tubes and transistors, and by ear you are unlikely to determine what circuitry was used in them. Some talented engineers are able to build amplifiers that create the complete illusion of faithful reproduction of music. They achieve this by carefully weighing all design nuances, and we, in turn, perceive the totality of the resulting quality indicators as natural sound. At the same time, it is easy for our brain to complete the remaining part of the illusion. I say “they give the complete illusion of accuracy,” because. There are no perfect amplifiers. In general terms, an audio amplifier is a device for amplifying current and voltage at a given load resistance. Much of the theory describing this process is well known to engineers. However, music playback is a more complex matter, requiring some compromises to bring theory to real life. The unscientific considerations on which these compromises are based are the main prerequisite for a successful project conceived off the beaten path.
Ole Moller
The first models ST 401 and ST 501 were highly praised by critics and experts, almost immediately becoming classics and an example of a competent design approach. Further, the equipment from Copland more than once attracted the attention of the audience: the STA 305 class A tube preamplifier with a built-in phono stage; 6-channel amplifier CVA 306 class A, designed for use in multi-channel audio systems and high-end home theaters; integrated stereo amplifier STA 405 class AB with built-in phono stage; two-channel amplifier STA 506 based on KT120 lamps with a stabilized power supply and a shielded toroidal transformer. The audience’s special attention was paid to the DRC 205 room acoustics correction system, designed on the basis of the DDRC module in collaboration with Dynaton. Currently, the company produces a range of tube preamps, integrated and power amplifiers, signal sources, DACs, designed to satisfy the highest consumer demands.
