I recently purchased an MCA 225 on sale for a secondary 2 channel system in my basement. I think in this price range, you won't find a better sounding amplifier. It seems to be a very neutral sounding amplifier. The preamp is a Marantz AV8802A paired with Dynaudio Excite X38. The speakers are starting to break in now and the setup sounds really nice. The acoustics in my basement are horrible, but this system is used for when I'm exercising on my treadmill.