Help...Need a New Amp


My 20 yr old Adcom GFA 555 power amp just died. I have been in the process of ugrading my system over the last few years, but have not upgraded my amp. I have B&W N805s bi-wired with Cardas Cross, a Sunfire MK II sub, Bryston BP 25 pre amp, and an older Sony ES CD player. My tastes range the gamut, from classical and opera to rock. The system is used 50-50 between music and video. The question is what amp shall I buy? ...used is fine. Been reading a lot about Bryston, Classe and Krell. Looks like I can get second hand amps from all 3 around my price point of 1200-1500. Is there any amp I should stay away from from these manufacturers?....Is it better to spend more money to get more power (ie 200wpc) or a better amp with less power. I am assuming that in this price range I should notice a huge difference over the Adcom. Can anyone help?
mrrobbiem
McCormack is a good way to go. Some say the DNA .5 sounds better with less power. More power will generally give you tighter bass and more dynamics. If you have efficient speakers (89db and up) you don't need as much power. It depends on your listening habits too. Most listening is done with only the first few watts of power. You could match your pre-amp with a Bryston amp. Many people like these with 20 yr warranty too. Classe, Krell, Bryston, McCormack are all good, and there are many more. You might search for others that have tried many different brands of amps on B&W 805 speakers. I am sure they can help narrow your search.
bryston, classe, and krell are all excellent, and all have new and used models in or near your pricerange. they all match well with most conventional speaker systems, and are all reliable, and neutral
I had an original Sunfire Stereo amp doubling in my ht and music system for years. I had additional amplification as well but now since they have introduced the multichannel Sunfire's they might be nice to try. Most high end folk I know never gave the Sunfire much credit but it served me well. It has a high enough output impedence to be easily driven by most preamp/processors, and it certainly boasts enough power. I recently sold mine because I switched to tubes, but my stereo version sold within a week, and the multi-channel versions are listed here are in your budget.