$1000 to spend on an amp used

Look for a Forte 1A or 4, about as good as a solid state gets under $3k. I have owned almost all of them including Pass X350 and McCormack DNA-2 Deluxe, Forte is as good or better.

You have lots of options, for sure. I tend to agree with Warnerwh in that your best bet may be to get a used Rotel power amp – like an RB-990, RB-1070, or RB-1080 for $400 to $600 – and spend the rest on a better CDP. Original Rega Planets go for around $350. Add those two pieces to your system and I think that you would be very pleased.

Good luck!

Avguygeorge - His speakers are quite respectable, as is his preamp. Also, didn’t you notice that he has a VPI turntable? (I wish I had one) You and I might spend the money a little differently, however IMHO a $1K amp would not be significantly out of place with his other stuff.

Eldarado - You might want to consider a less expensive amp (maybe $600) in order to invest the rest elsewhere. You did not mention what you have for cables, and I think that your system is deserving of ‘decent’ ICs and speaker cables. As previously mentioned, your CD player is another opportunity for improvement.

Just my $.02

Ekistler_sj,

Sorry, I should have listed the cables. Here they are:

-AQ Diamondback IC's from the TT to Pre
-Tara Labs Air IC's from CDP to Pre
-And I need a pair to go from pre to amp but, will not need to use any of the money from the amp fund.
-PS Audio Extreme speaker cables

Thanks,

Burton

Okay, Burton, I believe that you have some good cabling (although I am not familiar with your speaker cables). So, the question is whether or not you are willing to live with your CD player for a while longer. If it were me, I would split the money between amp and CD player. Maybe for you, that would not be the right decision. Maybe you don’t use your CD player that much, or maybe it’s only for background music, or maybe you have money coming for that upgrade. If any or all are applicable to your situation, then stretch to buy the best amp you can get and upgrade the other stuff over time.

If you are intent on spending $1K on an amp, you have already received several good recommendations - a newer (but still used) Rotel, a CJ, or a McCormack would be a good bet. I think that your speakers are a little power-hungry, so I would go with a minimum of 150W of SS amplification.

Again, just my $.02