Amplifiers:A Keeper for Life. Do you know of one ?

I have kept the same amp and preamp for eight years, and will die before they do. The H2O plus stable mate H2O Fire preamp were designed to grow into better systems. They never quit improving with great add on components. It took 8 years with careful system matching to bring out reproduction music I had never the quality dreamed of. Now, music is my only interest.

a conrad johnson mv 125 is my favorite amp, period.

A QUAD is FOREVER! (Untill manufacture was shifted to China, when it became just another import. Quad, made in Huntingdon UK, closest aproach to the original sound, amplified by the fact that even it's origins were close, just up the road in fact. So, the closest aproach is now as redundant as Quad's workforce!)
My 34/306 will last me out, I've been using it since '86 and it still doesn't `clonk!' when powered up. would I recommend it? Unreservedly YES! It more than rocks, it's a classic. I only wish I'd bought the tuner too with the stand.

Hey Gaslover! I haven't heard a Grandson yet, but I've acquired four Sons, an AmpzillaII, and a Gas 500. I've had them all recapped and gone over, with two of the Sons bridged. They are all fabulous, but the amp that knocks my socks off is, believe it or not, the Leach Low TIM amp. I found a pair of original LSR&D "Superamps" on Craigslist, had them redone and they beat the Ampzillas hands down. Speed, detail, linearity, but above all, truly flat response equate to extremely fine and precise transients. They simply display the particular recording you're listening to.

I've been through quite a few power amps in my lifetime up to about $12K, but it looks like the Mingda MC300845AB monoblocs (about $5K) are keepers. These are 76kg push-pull Class A tube amps producing about 90w/ch, a pair of 845B output tubes driven by TJ 300B meshplates in turn driven by a 6SN7 ...great line up of tubes and great sound!

These amps appear to be able to drive almost any speaker, have a thumping tight bass, a clear and lucid midrange, a sweet tinkly treble, high on transparency and unusual for a valve amp sound extremely clean with none of that mushy overhang to musical notes.

The Mingda 845 amp is a great match with my Supratek Grange preamp, which is also a keeper.