Amp for LS50

I tested Ragnorak on my LS50. Very disappointed with the sound. I was comparing it to my Pass Labs but it was no contest what was the better amp. And going by my audio memory which is quite good, my anthem 225 was a lot better than the Rag. I think the rag is a waste of money. 

As as per John Atkinson measurements, the rag cannot maintain low distortion over prolonged periods of time on demanding music, such as classical or EDM. 34% THD after 60 listening to half of RAM...

I love my KEF LS50s with the Vinnie Rossi LIO.  And my dad gets amazing sound from his KEF LS50s paired with NuPrime IDA-8.  (I think the NuPrime is 1k).  Good luck!Margot

I would echo those warning against using the LS-50's with low-end solid state amps.  I went through several before I found a good match with a tube preamp and a hybrid power amp from Frank van Alstine.  You don't want anything that tends towards the bright/forward/edgy side of things.  If I were starting over I'd be tempted to try a tube integrated like the PrimaLuna Prologue.

@d2girls interesting you would say that about the Ragnarok, since you have the Yggy listed and that faired quite poorly from a noise perspective in a recent test I read.  

I have used the following with LS50

Bryston 4B-SST (300W Class AB)
Bryston 7B-SST (600W Class AB)
Benchmark AHB2 (100 W NOT class D)
Parasound A23 (125 W Class A/AB)
Peachtree Nova 150 (150 W Class D)

All above are at 8 Ohms.

The best was Benchmark AHB2. It was clear and fatigue free. Just a brilliant amp and one I may buy again. The second favorite was the Peachtree Nova 150 which was a nice combination of the Parasound and Bryston. You can listen to the Peachtree 8+ hours a day like I do at my home office. I am very sensitive to harshness and get fatigued easily. With the Peachtrree none of that ever happens.

Like I mentioned above the plan is to upgrade to the NOVA 500 if I do not get another AHB2.

The OP would be well served by trying the FREE trial of the NOVA line for 30 days. Everything he asks for is covered in one box.

Another line that I can recommend with the LS50 is the Hegel integrateds. I heard the H360 and Roost with KEF Blades and it was very good (not very loud volume level). They will also work well with the much easier to drive LS50. The Roost and H360 are not far off the price the OP wanted to pay.

BTW - Darko is now using the Hegel H590 to drive his LS50s.
https://darko.audio/2018/10/a-short-film-about-the-hegel-h590/