Mono Blocks on a Budget, is it possible?

I also had (have) a 356BEE, and replaced it with one Vidar and Freya +.  I'm selling the NAD.  In my case, I had no noise from the Vidars coming through the speakers, but a very slight hum when I put my ear within an inch or two of the amp.  I swapped the NAD and Freya/Vidar back and forth a few times on various tracks guided by notes taken while listening to the NAD - drum at x timestamp, cymbals at another timestamp, etc., and the Vidar made enough difference to earn its keep. 

Imaging was also much better with the Vidar, with sounds seeming to emanate from above the speaker at times, not from the speaker.  That really got my attention.  I wondered if the preamp was the difference so I powered the Vidar from NAD pre out and difference was same.  I replaced NAD with a B&K preamp and no change.  Freya tubes also took some of the 'ice pick' sharpness out of higher treble which was definitely appreciated. 

I cannot explain any of this.  All I know is that I spent a week going back and forth scribbling annotations to my track notes and I could not blame perceived difference on panacea.  I did not want the Schiit product so much as wanting to see what could better the NAD.  I was prepared to buy a used NAD C375BEE and save a few hundred dollars, but what I heard from the 356 told me I'd get more watts and not much else with the 375.

Speakers are Focal Aria 926, known to be a bit bright.  Freya smoothed that out, but bass control was in a different league, and that's the Vidar's doing.  

Another one to add to the list:......I make a dual mono 600 watt per channel (1200 into 4 ohm) stereo amp for $2000 using the latest Icepower IceEdge modules (2 mono modules per box and highly modified).  I sell these extremely tweaked amps with 30 day money back guarantee and will even pay the original shipping to you if you send it back.  I supply 8 ohm power resistors with the amp so you can burn the amp in all day and night.  Check out tweakaudio.com for more details.

If your loudspeakers are the original Legacy Classics...they are rated at 4 ohm and 92 db....which pretty much means that with 64 watts, you can easily produce 92 db 10' from the loudspeakers with plenty of headroom for peaks above 92 db.

I owned the Crown XLS 2000...plenty of power, decent low end...somewhat harsh on the top end.

I owned the Nuprime STA9....good low end....nice midrange....somewhat sibilant.

I owned the Parasound Halo A23...now replaced by the 23A...really good sounding amp...no real weaknesses

I now own the Digital Amplifier 2Cherry...dual mono, single chassis...think Halo A23 but with enhanced clarity that results in more realism, huge soundstage, and great detail.  The basic model is $2400 and probably closer to $2k during their summer sale...and 30 day home trial.  With 400W @ 4ohms and 800@ @ 2ohms....you will have more power than you will ever need...and the company is outstanding to deal with.

another vote for quicksilvers - for tube monoblocks - may be able to find a used pair of V4s in that range- I purchased a used pair of M60s 20 years ago and they are still going strong  

A little bit of a budget-buster, but so much better than the budget brands--treat yourself to a pair of Belles Aria monoblocks.