After 20 years, in the market for a power amp

Pathos makes a great sounding amp...

A Bryston 3B Cubed is in your price range. No worries for another 20 years. The Cubed series is the best Bryston amp ever. 

I agree with those saying try the Kismet.  I have a khartago cased Kismet and it's ridiculous.  I have yet to go back to compare, but at the time while it was still warming up, the Kismet beat my friend's passlabs 250.8 as far as imaging, and clarity.  I'll need to go back soon, as he only had about 70 hours on that amp when we compared (not really fair as my Kismet has many hours on it).  But I have to say, if you want to save some $, I absolutely love my Kismet.  Otherwise yes I hear very good things about the Coda stuff.  Super curious on those vs a Kismet vs a Passlabs.  Also I have a stereo Kismet, and am super curious if you were to run monoblock Kismets.  Probably less expensive than the Coda or Pass gear still!

@mclinnguy Thanks for the data point in terms of the 'high priced spread' you referenced. I appreciate the validation that the VTV punches above its weight so to speak, as while I have as much passion for great immersive listening as the next guy, budget is always a consideration and my focal point is 'bang for the buck' with an eye on maximizing that at whatever limit the budget imposes. The idea that I could spend 5-7k on a two channel amplifier or would actually decide to do so is somewhat laughable as there just isn't that kind of excess in the budget. I don't fault those who would do so, not by any means, I have never had the opportunity to audition equipment in that price range, let alone actually own it. At the age of 72 I am not sure my ears could appreciate the difference, but I'll probably never find out either. GIven the lack of Bricks and Mortar dealers in current times, I don't see them getting anything but more scarce and I don't travel nearly as well as I used to. Anything I buy now of significant money has to come with a home trial as part of the deal so I can live with it a while and see if it passes muster. So at this point conversations with people like you who don't have an axe to grind and my own judgement thru reading reviews and studying features and specs are the tools at my disposal for picking replacement equipment for what I lost in the fire. I appreciate every data point I get from an independent source since it will be considered in the final decisions made.

@mclinnguy , Ordinarily, I would doing exactly like you suggested and building my system around a pair of speakers.  But in this case, I literally do not have a functioning power amp. So that’s the call at the moment. I agree it’s less than ideal in terms of system building.  I’m very fond of the Primaluna. When I bought it, I listened for five straight hours—the difference was that striking (and GOOD) My next step with it will be new tubes, but I need to get this problem addressed first.