After 20 years, in the market for a power amp


Hello:

Longtime lurker/reader of this forum. Recently my long time and beloved Odyssey Khartago shed its left channel and I had been long past ready to move on from it anyway. I am a typically slow upgrader as I am much more a listener than a tweaker. It is therefore time to invest in a new power amp. My system specs:

GoldenEar Triton Ones

Rega P8 TT w/Apheta 3 

Aria phono amp

Primaluna Dialogue Premium p/a

Rotel 1570 CD spinning into a Schiit Yggdrasil

Odyssey Khartago Power amp

AntiCable interconnects

AudioQuest speaker cable

The Khartago, while wholly competent, has long since since been bypassed by the rest of my gear. Looking for something with some synergy with the Primaluna.

Budget $5-7k. Been researching feverishly but it is difficult to get an audition. Suggestions?

 

 

 

pvnasby

@pvnasby 

I love my Odyssey Kismet Extreme Monoblocks and hope they last a long time. Odyssey has a sound you might miss, could be worth a call over to Klaus and discuss your issues and needs and maybe he could get you back on track. 
There’s nothing out there at his quality level for the price and he takes care of his customers…

I agree with audiophile1.  Over the last 20 years I have paired tubed preamps with Bryston SS power amps. Bryston amps are neutral, powerful, effortless and dependable. Currently I use the Bryston 14b3, but the Bryston 4b3 is a real solid piece of gear and can be found used for 3500 to 4000 range. Since the Bryston is so neutral, your sound will be determined by what your tube preamp (and cable choices) sound like.  

+1 on the CODA S5.5, best SS Class A amp the near side of $6K new IMHO, but might not work well with your tube pre unless it has low-ish impedance.

Make sure whatever you are looking at matches up well in terms of impedance.

I would call Doug Dale with Coda.  Tell him what you have for gear.  You should also think about your long term plan.  Will you ever change speakers?

For my Von Schweikert Endeavor RE speakers, Doug recommended the No 8, V1.  That's what I bought.

I've been using tube preamps with solid state amps for years.  First were conrad-johnson.  Now it's a Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamp.