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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
mybuddy
16 posts
 
Before you spend big bucks, you must listen to Bryston's 7Bs (ST or SST). Some speakers like the B&W just need to be "spanked". If bass control is what you crave, the 7Bs have it in spades. Except for the bass, it is quite nuetral. You can however probably get away with a lower pwr Bryston amp for the 803s.
flrnlamb
508 posts
 
Scratch the 7b's dude...no! Class C/B at best, not Class A(someone got a good incentive payout to write that review)
You'd be much much better biamping those 803's, using a parasound bass amp on the bottom, and a more refined pristine amp up top for mid/treble. Actually, of all the combo's I've tried with the 803's, biamping works best!
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
The velvety golden glow of my Rowland 7M monoblocks makes me purr with contentment. . . except for that not so fine day when the nail of my left thumb lost an unfair game of 'shock absorber' under one of the cooling fins of the 140 pounds behemoth. That was when I discovered that, for some odd reason Aluminum seems to have been created harder than nail and flesh.
One year later, the nail fully regrown and nicely healed, I went back to purring with blissful contentment.
drew_w
63 posts
 
The Halo JC-1s were before the tax man came along. But they should really come packaged with an air conditioner unit. I'm glad we still have relatively cold temps up here in Toronto. Come summer, these things would have been blazing even in low bias. High bias would probably be good for grilling steak.
wdt
12 posts
 
McIntosh MC501 Monoblocks driving B&W N802's w/REL Stadium III sub, solid performers top to bottom in a very large room. A relative bargain @ $8200. Stereophile comparisons to Halcro dm58 @31k/pr.
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