keep checking the Gon, lots stuff always being listed and sold, just be ready for the one you want, as the good stuff gets sold fast.
you need more than 60 measly watts.
Pure Class-A Amp under $2000 (USED)
Hello everyone,
There are so many brands out there that I couldn't catch up with, so I opened a thread about Class-A Amp for discussion. My budget is around $2000 for a Stereo Amplifier (No need for Pre), could you guys help me to suggest me some?
- DAC: Exogal Comet
- Pre/Amp: Yamaha Intergrated A-9 (My current, but want to update)
- Speaker: Sonus Faber Venere 2.0
- Cable: Acrolink (Power, Interconnect, Speaker)
=> I think the wattage range between 30-60WPC for Class-A is powerful and popular. The production date of amplifier should not too old, I think after 199x is nice.
58 responses Add your response
@arcticdeth agree with you about the immediate purchase. Yet I need to create a whitelist of good amps first; then I can hunt them down on Gon 😁. For the Wattages, the greater the better, but I’m afraid the 100W of Pure Class A will cost huge price. |
@shkong78 Let me check the Schitt, I almost forgot that they also make the Amp @jeffseight I heard about Threshold many years ago, but still not research them carefully. |
You might consider one the First Watt amps. I’ve had the First Watt F7 in my system for the last few years paired with a Schiit Freya (OG) and Tekton Double Impacts and have really enjoyed it. Lot of bang for the buck. I’ve recently upgraded my amp, but felt like I had to spend over twice as much (retail) to make it worth my while. The F7 is rated at 20W into 8 ohms and 30W into 4 ohms. |
if you like some volume, low watt amps are not for you, if you just like mid volume, then you may be fine with the proper speakers.
me, i like loud, raven, venom, celtic frost, pat travers, motorhead, living death, assassin, bathory, humble pie, hirax, bitches sin, onslaught, jungle rot, malevolent creation, etc so i need my amps and my speakers which are warm (less treble, not searing) which makes for more relaxed, listening time for me. if you like some JAM time, get min 200-300W rms. there will be no clipping, no loss of sound, no muffled anything.
if you just like barry manilla, james taylor, ravi shankar, etc, the low watt will sound great! |
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@ozzy62 I think with 6ohm, the power would be 1.5x. But we need to confirm this with Schiit Team. @timski Yeah, I’m eyeing on some of the Nelson Pass amp such as First Watt F7 or Aleph 5. Nice suggestion bro @bluorion Let me check the Sugden; which speakers are you using with the amp? @arcticdeth tbh, I like the great watt amp, but for the Pure Class A, over 100wpc will cost huge amount. Unless I jump in the Class AB territory
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@darkknight8586 I'm using Tekton Lore Reference but I also use Dynaudio Special 40s---the S40s love the Sugden despite it being being only 23 wpc. They appreciate the high current from the A21. Hope this helps. |
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If you want pure class A and high power you need a push/pull amp. While very rich class A no push/pull amp stays class A into all impedances at high power. Only a single ended amp(which can only be class A due to circuit topology) is ALWAYS class A and they are almost all low power. Then again an amp that is say class A up to 30 watts is almost never out of class A and if it is it's for mili seconds mainly> For instance the 30 watt calss A Pass amps are 30 watts class A to 30 watts but then become class B up to around 75 watts(why he calls them 30 watt class A amps. If I recall correctly(someone may know better) if a push pull amp is class A at 8 ohms at a given power it stays class A only at lower power into lower impedances. |
@darkknight8586 I believe Krell KSA 150 and 250 operate in Class A and deliver plenty of power. There are some other Krell models such as sustained plateau biased models also operate in pure Class A. There is one KSA 150 available for $2,500 if you are interested. KSA 150 burn 300W when at idle! Class A efficiency is very low around 10-15% tops. For this reason, I purchased little brother in this series KST 100, but Class AB biased. Imaging, depth, spacing around instruments are outstanding.
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It seems that Sugden is quite favourable by many users, and they look very nice @pwerahera how do you feel about the sound of Krell? I heard they have a very forceful bass. |
I have a LUXMAN 550ax2 in my tannoy system but just picked up jungson ja88 used for £400 ($470) and amazed ... Need to drop into the main system as think it could be as good as the luxman ... It's a bit more powerful https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0809/jungson_ja88d.htm#:~:text=The%20JA%2D88D(09)%20was%20a%20joy%20to%20use,quickly%20got%20used%20to%20it. It does suck about 380w from wall and get warm which is fine here in Scotland .... Built very nice but heavy at 27kg and big so you need space on a rack or sideboard.
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whatever you do, steer clear of that Emoteva tripe. gain is ultra high, you will have tweeter hiss plus the service on them is a disgrace to audio. they are ok for what they are entry level stereo separates . nothing more. i did hear the new flagship speaker was fairly descent, despite the very low Watts/current allowed. for such a good size speaker, i think its only 250W
i do like the folded horn tweeter if the source material is well recorded. heavy metal through the Emo amps was painful, they are bright, even with a 92 1w/1m pair of old speakers i had 15+ years ago. they were ok for country, or reg rock, but metal,...aaaarrrgggghhhhh shrill, i even switched speakers, and still shrill and molar grinding. had the xpa-1 monos. big bulky, and those knight rider like blue meters on the front were making the amp look cheap and low end. as it is. i had them shut off from first warmup.
if you know about class A, im sure you know about that Emo mess |
FWIW...there is a First Watt M2 available right now for $1850. It will work well with 6-ohm speakers. Your sensitivity at 88dB is lower than I would like but you will get decent sound as long as you don't expect to rock the house. I have an F6 controlled by an NAD C658 connected to Focal Kanta No.2 speakers rated at 91dB efficiency and frankly they sound great and can put out enough volume to drive the wife out but I like MORE so I just ordered a set of Tekton DI's rated at 98dB efficiency. My 2 cents |
+1 Schiit Aegir(s) x2 monoblocks. I currently run a pair of Schiit Aegirs into my Wilson Benesch speakers which are, I believe a 6 ohm speaker with no difficulty at all, 80 watts per monoblock and I never have it over 25%. Lovely sounding class A, first 10 watts are pure class A, balance of the wattage is something called class A "continuity". You will have to check with the website to get the details, listed as Class A in Sterephile. I beleive they cost me $ 2,500.00 new delivered in Canada so you should find a pair used well within your budget. |
+4 on the Aegir. I have one in my main system for my 88 dB 6 ohm Ohm 1000 speakers and it easily goes to my loudest needed volume (about 85 dB average) without strain. (Full disclosure, I also use a sub.) And, I love the sound -- previously had a Bel Canto amp and then a VTV Hypex that were both higher wattage but didn't sound as good. Schiit offers a 15 days trial with a 5% restocking fee if you try and don't like. $40 to try it out (plus returning shipping) which is a pretty good deal. And, there is also a solid used market for Schiit gear -- you can use it for a year or two and not be out all that much if you choose later to move on. |
The Sonus Faber would like power, especially if you play loud. Most Class A amps are small 30 W or less. I had a Schitt. Sounded good but not enough grunt. You need an amp with some weight, a big transformer, etc. There are several AB amps that would sound quite nice. Parasound, Anthem, etc. Look on here or other places you will be set. PS. I personally will always own a class A amp but high efficiency speakers make it easier.
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If you’re fortunate to find a used Clayton Audio S50 while your radar is up I’d say consider yourself hugely lucky and that you jump on it ASAP. 50 and 100Wpc of sweet-sounding and pure Class-A power into 8 and 4Ohms, respectively. Read the reviews of Clayton amps and I think you’ll find them quite special too. Best of luck in your search! https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649787192-clayton-audio-s50-class-a-amplifier/ |
-50 on the Schitt Aegir I had a pair and they couldn't handle the LSA Statement 10 which is a 83db 10ohm bookshelf nor a pair of Fyne F501 which is 90db 8ohm. Both amps would shut off at any music past 88db volume. Both speakers worked perfectly on my Sony surround receiver at volumes well past 88db. Per Stereophiles measurements and ASRs' (49w @1% THD and 23w @.5% THD) Schiit severely lied on their published specs for mono rating. When confronted with the above publications and when I requested my money back, I got no response. Here's the tests
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Keep checking audio gon and usmart for a nice class A amp, as I told another seeker, ne ready to jump on it if your ready. those nice class A amps go fast. Keep classe, pass labs in your everyday search, and get when you find t one don’t worry, most used ones will be a good bit affordable, I almost hit “buy” button on a pair of pass labs amps years ago, I waited another day, and a pristine pair of McCormack dna-750’s went up for sale, messaged the seller, am I had made my decision, grabbed the pair with shipping for a steal, 600-650W at 8 Ohm and over 1000W rms at 4 Ohm. Stable below four Ohms. I then started looking for the LD-2 preamp, and the UDP-1 spinner. good luck! |
Most “class A” amps are not “pure class A” because they are extremely inefficient and get very hot, even with massive heatsinks. They are basically space heaters. Even amps like the Pass XA25 (50 watt class A envelope) are not pure Class A for this reason. Also, it’s my experience that even high efficiency speakers can really benefit from the headroom afforded by higher power, >100WPC amplifiers. It isn’t so evident in a vacuum of course, but power a 90db sensitivity speaker with 50 WPC, then power it with 250 WPC and this truth becomes very evident, especially at lower volumes. Just food for thought. In many cases one is better off using an amp that is heavily biased into class A, for a dozen watts or so. |
Try looking for the Forte brand . Made a Model One that was 50 watts and later upgraded the line to a Model 4 (Fifty Watts ) and then 2 Monoblocks ! Don’t recall that model # . Had the Model 4 loved it but parted with it going up the audio chain ! The thing about a Class A amp is that most of them generate a lot of heat so take that in consideration! Good hunting in this crazy hobby ! |
I recently sold my Classe Audio DR-8 power amplifier ("Pure Class A", hence the name) built in Canada and designed by David Reich. It served me very, very well with Vancdersteen 2c models and most recently with Magnapan LRS. I replaced it with a Schiit Vidar (not class-A). I am still considering the wisdom of the new v. old amplifier but class-A was very satisfying for me for a very long time. |
Hello 8586, How are you. You wrote, " I think the wattage range between 30-60WPC for Class-A is powerful and popular". I have no idea what "popular", has to do with the price of tea in China when it comes to anything, let alone amps. Best to look at the spec data on your Venere's. Sensitivity: 88dB. Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms. Suggested amplification: 50W-200W. These are relatively inefficient/power hungry speakers, that will inevitably "clip" an under powered amplifier. The maker recommends 50-200W. I'm not saying I'm 100% correct on this, but in the name of safety a good rule of thumb is to add 50+200=250, divided by 2 = 125watts. Although they "do" over lap, do not confuse power with volume/dB, think more along the lines of authority as well as head room. Therefore if you're bent on a pure Class A amp, take heed from (pwerahera) suggestion concerning the Krell KSA 150 and 250, or (jeffseight's) suggestion on a Threshold. Someone wrote that these amps might be overbearing. You did say that a different Pre-amp was in the cards. For approx $2G's, a good tube Pre-amp (VTL Ultimate, ARC-SP8, Audible Illusions Modulus, or an Ampex 402) will get a tiger amp to purr. If tubes aren't your thing, a Classe' Audio DR5 is a good SS alternative that blends well with a pure Class A amplifier.Enjoy the music. |
@thehorn You’re likely not correct on this. Understand that you’re conveying general guidelines, but general guidelines are just that and don’t apply in all situations, and this is one of them. For one, the OP is looking for a Class A amp, which out of the box affects how many Watts are required as they mostly double power into 4 Ohms and given their more robust power supplies can provide plenty of headroom even above that. Then, there’s the speaker specs. Using stated specs can be indicative but not always determinative. Case in point, here are JA’s actual measurements of the Venere 2.5 whose stated specs are near identical to the 2.0… Further, I had the 2.5 in my system and will attest they were not hard to drive at all, and my 100Wpc Class A/B amp drove them to very loud levels without even nearly breaking a sweat. And I’d have actually NO reservation saying a 50Wpc Class A amp would be more than sufficient to drive the Venere 2.5, which is why I recommended the Clayton S50 would be a great choice here. I’d even say something like the Pass XA30 @ 30Wpc would be perfectly fine because, as Pass amps are conservatively rated, it’d have more than enough juice to drive the 2.0. Point being, using top-level, basic specs without looking further under the hood can lead to misleading conclusions despite whatever good intentions were involved. |
