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

Hi John, my Atma monos never burnt and through several upgrades I HAVE STUCK WITH THEM FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW. Those are for life, while everything else in my set up has changed.

The Atma-sphere may sound fine and all,but I've known atleast two different  sets which have started on fire.They must sound well though the crazy bastards had Ralph fixem and just bought a fire extinguisher.

This is an out and out lie. I'm sure we would know about this if it had really happened!

If anyone is interested in solid state, I am in the process of comparing four very good sounding amplifiers, at least two of which may fall into your category of "A Keeper for Life."

• Acoustic Imagery Atsah (Class D monoblocks @ 300 wpc/8 ohms, Ncore, NC1200)
  
• Clayton M300 (Class A monoblocks @ 300 wpc/8 ohms in Class A)
  
• Lamm M1.2 Reference (Class A hybrid monoblocks @ 110 wpc/8 or 4 ohms in Class A)
  
• SMc/McCormack DNA-2 LAE (Class AB stereo amplifier @ 300 wpc/8 ohms with SMc Signature Edition upgrades)
  

I am interested- mitch2


keep me posted and happy listening!

I'm still breaking in a Primare A34.2 Class D amplifier mated to a B. A. T. VK3i tube preamplifier...150 watts into 8 ohms, "almost double that into 4."  (Primare's response to my inquiry regarding the non-disclosure of its 4 ohm rating.) Primare's user manuals are startlingly Spartan - I also have their R32 phono stage. The amp was approximately $2k which, methinks was a decent investment overall. 

I continue to rue the day I sold my Pass Labs X150.5 and used the funds to purchase a McIntosh MC275 Mark VI - which I had for all of 6-8 months.  (Great little amp but I found that McIntosh's customer support leaves much to be desired.) The Pass has been my absolute benchmark/comparison amp - I can't think of another one in my experience that just gets everything right.  I'm in the process of squirreling money away to get another unit sometime this year. (The used ones have increased by $1k...)  Reno Hifi is the best source. 

What's so good about the X150.5?  150/300 into 8/4 ohms, more power than I truly needed but always nice to know is there - an amp that imparts nothing in the sonics.  I'm flogging myself with a spare generic power cord as I write this...