Bryston 9B ST FIVE CHANNEL vs Rotel RMB-1585 5ch

If you want go with Class A/B there is ATI AT4005 a beast second only to its larger sibiling. I think an overkill for surrounds. Used ones are rare I guess most of them just keep them. 

@geek101 


Thanks will keep that in mind. I believe the ATI stuff is top notch as well. 

Do you have any insight into whether or not the Monoprice ATI clone is worthy of an audition?

@lightfighter2018 why not?, but I think Monoprice is based off of ATI 1800 rather than the 4000 or the 6000 series, I could be wrong. From what I read 4000 is really good. You could go 3 channel with 4000 and buy anything for surrounds like Emotiva bass-x A300 or something which is just $400(can find used a bargain).

Again you have a lot of good choice, try getting something that is over engineered. Like http://www.odysseyaudio.com/products-stratos-ht3.html a great value for 3 channel stable to 2 Ohm. You can call Odyssey they may discount it further. You get better parts and build quality when compared to Rotel or Marantz etc. You will be pleasantly surprised with the sound quality you are getting for such a low price :).

Save money on IC and cables, I can whole heartedly recommend https://benchmarkmedia.com/ for cables, no BS cables but a tad better than blue jeans in build still you won't hear a difference compared to blue jeans, keep the cables short and save money on Kimber and AQ and use those funds for amp. 

@geek101 

Thanks.  I have read that folks were having issues with CS with Odyssey so I scratched them off the list.

If I do a 2 ch -- won't the center sound 'off' if it is amplified by a different 'brand' of amplifier?

I understand about the surrounds - not as important to me anyhow... I was mainly concerned with solid power to LCR.

But if I can get a 2ch and save some cash - maybe that would allow for either other mods or a new sub.

Thanks again.  Will check out benchmark.

@lightfighter2018, I am assuming you are going to use a AV processor that calibrates the speakers for you to watch movies. That will take care of gain difference in using different amplifiers. There is no need to get same amp for LCR. Same amp for L/R yes but not LCR. The gain difference should not be large however like 6 or 10 dB most amplifiers have gain between 26 and 30. Stick to 26 area and you are good.

I a not sure where you heard about CS issues, but folks at audiocircle are quite happy with Klaus @ Odyssey, he personally responds and takes care of every customer if I am not mistaken. They are a small shop, you are looking for value for $ so I pointed them to you, everything is hand built and 20 year warranty. Real HiFi sound on the cheap. Similarly used Parasound are quite good value, they are stable till 2 Ohm again well engineered.