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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
telescope_trade
555 posts
 
If you can pop for $1650, you might want to look into
"Red Dragon" here on the Gon.
jay_douglas_2879b79
239 posts
 
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
xagwell
132 posts
 
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.
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
McCormack DNA225, Parasound Halo A21, Antique Sound Labs Monsoon
hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
342 posts
 
You'll certainly not go wrong with a McCormack unit.

It's certainly a buyers market.
Out of five hundred classified listing in solid state amps 64 are marked sold.
13% success rate?

I noted while perusing the solid states amps there was a Aragon 8008 for sale that meets your budget requirements.

Again, as stated earlier, Bryston, Krell and Classe are all quality manufacturers as well.
Bryston 20 year warranty.

There are some integrated units out now that might suit your needs as well.

Amps from the aforementioned mgf.'s to stay away from... can't help you there.
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