Used FM Acoustics that I am selling for $3000. AL the others above cannot compete.
Happy Listening.
Should also look at Heed as they make some freaking awesome sounding Class A integrated for a very very reasonable price. Gene Ruben is a dealer in California. I have Heed Elixir that I just love in one of my systems. The Best Integrated Amplifiers | Buyers Guide 2022 - Part-Time Audiophile (parttimeaudiophile.com) |
I agree with the Belles recommendations. If budget is an issue, the Belles Aria integrated is the most muscular 75 watts you can ask for and this model comes with a headphone jack. If you are more interested in a killer integrated with a huge, dual mono power supply, the 85 wpc into 8 ohms and 130 wpc into 4 ohm Aria Dual Mono integrated is a fantastic speaker friendly amplifier and a great fit with the Spendor D7.2 loudspeaker. If you want more power, choose the Aria Signature integrated with a huge dual mono power supply outputting 125 wpc at 8 ohms and 225 wpc into 4 ohms. With Belles, you just can't go wrong. Two things I immediately noticed with the Belles Dual Mono integrated was it woke up my speakers and exhibits zero listening fatigue. |
Hey Forte, It would certainly have help if you'd specified which Acoustats you're using, & better yet if you had also included the dimension of your listening room in order to select the amp. But .... IMHO, with the ARC SP9 the Krell KSA-250 is your best match out of your selection, - - - except it's 15 yrs old & it's pure Class A. ("Sounds fab"), but because it runs so hot it cooks it's-self. A re-cap is necessary, so add another $1500 clams to your bill. Jeff Rowlan Model 5, is 20+ yrs old, & will need a $1G - $1.5G recap job, + they're going $5G's as is. Threshold s/5000e [not being a pure Class A amp, (Threshold's rep is for building Class A amps)], + it's 15yrs old, so a re-cap is just around the bend. The 525 Rowland is a Class D amp, so no comment. IMHO .... take SOIX's suggestion & get the Bryston 4B SST2 at $3250. A spot on match for your ARC SP9 & your Accoustats, + the 4B is good for another 10 yrs before a re-cap.
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Stay away from these boutique amps, nothing but trouble and headaches when you. Must ship em back for repair.
save your money, for a while, and “have patience”, wait for the Sanders Magtech amp to be up for sale. Then jump on her as if you accidentally walked in on Elisha Cuthbert and Jamie Chung playing naked twister. best. Warranty in audio, gobs of power, high current, small and not too heavy. look up the review on the MBL Radiostrahler pair, even the pair of Sunfire 600s’ were lightly humiliated by the Magtech. Last amp you will ever need. She looks unassuming and not much to look at, it’s the internals which matter, http://www.sanderssoundsystems.com/products/amplifiers/magtech-amp
call Roger, he loves to shoot the breeze, he is a engineer, you won’t regret the purchase. |
+1 on the Belles @jerryg123 |
I'm not familiar with the specific Threshold on your list but I'm a serious Threshold fan. I have SA-200 monoblocks. After 20 years of use one of my cats decided to pee on one of them. I bundled both up and sent them to Threshold for them to look at and refresh. They told me that one of the amps was slightly out of spec. Not bad for 20 years of use. I've seen SA-200s offered for sale but I have no idea if any are currently available, or at what price. When I looked (just out of curiosity) a few years ago, purchasing a pair and sending them to Threshold for whatever needed to be done would fit in your budget. Outstanding amps. And they were in the Pass era. I also have FET-10 pre-amps. If you stumble across someone who's selling both, consider it if you can fit it in your budget. Good luck and have a great Thanksgiving. |
Thank you for your suggestions. I am using a recapped ARC SP9 preamp and listen to orchestral and chamber music but I do love Rock. I have a set of Quad 63s and although their midrange is beautiful I prefer the visceral effect I get from the Acoustats. I have to admit that resale value is important only because there is always something to upgrade.
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Here’s a nice Bryston 4B SST2 available listed at $3250 but should be negotiable down to $3000… https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649918651-bryston-4b-sst2/ |
+1 @ghdprentice What sound characteristics are most important to you and what specific improvements are you looking for over what you have now? |
I think it will come down to what character you are looking for. I think you have identified some amps with “the right stuff” for speakers requiring high current. Given you have a Conrad Johnson preamp I would think the Krell would be a great match. Doing some reading I would pick the Rowland Model 5 second. While I was a Threshold fan 40 years ago, once Pass left, less so. |