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Which Solid State Amplifier is Making you Happy?

I'm trying to find a new amplifier to replace a Musical Fidelity A3CR. There are lots of candidates: Rowland 501s, Pass Labs 350.5, Levinson 431/432, H2O, etc. What are people using and what has been a good sonic investment? I'm currently driving B&W N803s, so it's a pretty normal load. My MF amp does not offer enough punch or bass control. It flattens out at higher volumes. I'll spend what it takes, new or used. Less than $8K would be nice. All comments welcome.
Peter
pscialli
danielk141
489 posts
 
Peter,

Check out a Pass X250.5. They have the MOSFET sound, and some feedback, for bass control. They do come up used..
pops
2,273 posts
 
I am thoroughly enjoying my Mac 501's, they are simply incredible at all levels and when cranked take my thiel 3.6's to a level I've only ready about! For the money you get a ton of power, real world bass, and see way into midrange. They do not sound congested or flat when pushed, actually, I can't even push them - I feel like the guy in the old maxell commercial when I try...
davidlschr
12 posts
 
Get one BEL 1001 Mk5 if you want the most transparent amp ever made, get two and run them in bridged mono mode if you want to be completely free of "upgraditis" for the duration. I have never heard anything better in solid state. And you can also use Richard Brown's (BEL) IC's and speaker cables for a relatively inexpensive treat.
mitch2
3,962 posts
 
Denf, Unfortunately, I have never heard the Halo JC-1's, but I would really like to hear them someday. They were actually my other "finalist" when I purchased the McCormack and I forgot to list them in my post above. I don't know that they would better the DNA-500, but I would guess the choice would boil down to system matching. The McCormack works well in mine.
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,013 posts
 
Plinius SA102, or the SA250.The oddyssey extreme
monoblock are also very good choice.
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