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Mono Blocks on a Budget, is it possible?

I’m really struggling with the direction to take my system. I have the following:

Legacy Classics speakers
Aurender N100H media player
Schiit Freya tube pre-amp
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
Schiit Vidar x2 (in mono block mode)

I will be replacing speakers at some point but the rest of the system I love... except the Vidars. Before them, I had NAD 356BEE that was used for the amp. Very clean and I loved it, except it was only 80 Watts. I decided to upgrade to the Vidars. They cost twice as much From a good manufacturer like Schiit so they must be better right? Not really. They are more noisy than the NAD amp and I’m finding myself less in love with them that I though I would be. I was planning the Vidar purchase for about a year and now that I got them I don’t know which direction to take in replacing them. I want to get cleaner mono amps but don’t want to spend more than $3k MAX for both. The Vidars are 400 Watts into 8ohm, are there any options out there for me that are close to the Vidar specs? I’m open to used but mostly I want the amps to sound almost completely clean with practically no distortion. 
xerotrace
erik_squires
16,051 posts
 
If you feel like getting your feet wet in Class D, and a little DIY at the same time, how about a pair of nCore amplifiers?

https://www.hypexshop.com/

I was going to recommend the ICEpower 250 ASPs but they seem to have left ebay.

Best,

E
xerotrace OP
30 posts
 
Yeah the stellar 700 is a good option. I think I wanted class AB at the time I was looking into amps so I skipped over these guys. I wonder how big of a difference a class AB vs a class D from a good audio company will make. I also wonder how important it is for the power to double moving from 8ohm to 4ohm. Looks like I have some research to do.
xerotrace OP
30 posts
 
Thanks Erik, the Hypex is a great option as well. I remember new record day making a video on it. Great way to save some money!
tutetibiimperes
202 posts
 
With the exchange rate the Nord completed monoblocks aren't much more than the Hypex DIY models, and you get the NC500 vs the NC400, though if you like the DIY aspect the Hypex monoblocks still have a lot to offer. 

A couple of other great Class D options:

D-Sonic M3a-600Ms - 600wpc into 8ohms, 1,000wpc into 4ohms, use Pascal modules which are very highly regarded, and only $1,175 each.

The Digital Amplifier Company (Cherry Amps) Inline Maraschinos with the King 60v power supply just hit your top of range budget at $3,100/pair, and don't put out quite as much power (rated at 200wpc into 8 ohms) but they double into 4ohm and again into 2ohms and are stable with sub-ohm loads if you ever buy speakers that demand that.  
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,895 posts
 
NAD makes some super gear; I got my girlfriend an 80 Watts/ch NAD C368 receiver (also class D), and it sounds great - very musical! Schiit on the other hand, I think tends to be overhyped. For you budget I think you’d be way better off finding the right stereo amp pairing. NAD makes the higher-end M22 (now in a 2nd revision, which should be right around your budget) which I’d love to hear, and of course there are plenty of awesome Hypex nCore options out there.

Monoblocks are great for the super high-end, when you need to break up that 200+ lbs stereo amp into two more manageable/moveable chunks, and your silver speaker cables run $1k+ a foot, etc. Until then, you're largely paying for an extra chassis.
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