Honestly… a newer Audio Research amp. I added one piece of ARC equipment after another over the last twenty years and each addition added another level of magic. Their tube amps are simply stunning. If I were you I would look for a ReF 75 or Ref 75se… these are amazing… I now have REF 160s And have a pair or REF160m monoblocks on long term loan. These things are simply stunning.
NEED TO REPLACE OLD FAITHFUL- WHICH AMP. SHOUD I CHOOSE
27 Years ago I purchased a brand new Audio Research D400 Mk.2 Amplifier. 200 Watts per channel solid state. Last weekend the capacitors blew out. I talked to Greg at Audio Research and he told me they do not work on this model because of it's age and that parts are no longer available. I need to buy a new amp. I have an Audio Research Ref. 5 SE pre amp and use Dali Helicon 800 mk. 2 speakers that are 89.5 efficiency.
The list of amplifiers that I am considering are as follows.
Coda 16, McIntosh MC462, Aesthetix Atlas Stereo,
On the tube side I am considering,
Zesto Audio Bia120, VTL S120, Ayon Triton Evo Mono's and maybe Audio Research Reference 160S but that really stretches the budget.
Does anyone have any of these amps? I would really appreciate your suggestions. So far I kind of like the Coda 16
- ...
- 26 posts total
How about one of these:
Seattle Hifi has it for sale... http://seattlehifi.com/demos/?hegel-h30-amplifier-open-box-demo
|
While I am not saying the estimated repair is excessive as I do not know if they are just going to repair the problem or do a full recap of the amp, I recommend that even if you are going to upgrade that you should repair it, if for no other reason than to have a back-up. I have a full set of caps for my ML 23.5 just waiting to go in (amp is used almost daily). For no obvious problem, just age and got the caps (OEM) off eBay for under $200. I have a EE that I have been using recently who has performed magic with some components that I wanted to sell off and units I wanted to keep. If you are in the NY area (LI) can send his info, excellent work, fast turn-around (1-2 weeks) and more reasonable than other shops I had used in the past, including a guy that I used to repair shipping damage on my ARC 5se. |
- 26 posts total