Adcom Vs Rotel

Its common knowledge, SOME of the 555s were very good, some were not. Many companies design a product and then have it made by a company specializing in that product; this is not always a bad thing. The Japanese company Jelco has only recently become well known despite making high quality tonearms for decades for other companies to be sold under their names. The problem is that sometimes a company will turn to manufacture A to make a product; after it is established it will then turn to manufacture B to make a cheaper version without changing the appearance or model number. This is what I had heard was the case with the 555 but I have not compared them myself. NAD is another respected marketer, who, so far as I am aware, does the design work and contracts out the actual construction to others. At least that was the case in the days when I was one of their dealers. But since so much of the industry has moved to the Far East and so many famous brands have been juggled between companies I will not pretend to have an exact knowledge of who is making what these days.

I hooked up a pair of 602's to my Krell 300S years ago and those only cost $400 new. I was blown away how they sounded and you can't get around better amps/pre amps to get the most out of your speakers. if you need to keep a budget for now then so be it but as long as you remember that your B&W's will continue to improve at every level when you upgrade your electronics then you will be fine. Just don't blow more cash getting there in steps =~(

There are some Muse 150 monoblocks on here right now that would do a fabulous job, no their not mine nor do I know the seller. Just a solid recommendation.