2. amps-preamps
  3. 158780-114773

Threshold, Levinson, Bryston, Krell, ?others? used amps


Hi All.  I'm looking for a bang for the buck, diamond in the rough, 200-ish WPC power amp that will hang really tough with what's out there today in the vintage or recently new realm.  Trying to keep $$$ under 2K.  I currently own a Nakamichi PA-7 (Nelson Pass Stasis design).  Looking for an amp that is great at doing the disappearing act, smooth sounding, but not colored, and with lots of authority.  I realize that there are as many opinions on this as stars in the night sky but thought I would ask anyway.  Been considering a Threshold S/500, Levinson 23.5, Bryston 4B family.  Any standouts that I should try to find?  Let's hear from you.
mjt_tx
joe996tt
1 posts
 
I personally like Bedini amps. I owned the original 200/200 pure class A, this amp was good to 1.5 ohms. I ran it on the Infinity Servo Static 1A electrostats and the original Martin Logan CLS for 40 years with no problems. I also have the original 25/25  pure class A and the 10/10 class A, which I have also had for 40 years with every day use. These amps sound better than most solid state amps and hold up.

jg2077
159 posts
 
Pyramid Audio in Austin Texas,  is an authorized service center for ML gear.  They have the experience and knowledge required to fix any of the ML gear mentioned thus far.  No vested interest in Pyramid Audio,  I'm a very satisfied customer. 

Good luck, 
Jose 
wspohn's avatar
wspohn
606 posts
 
Agree with Bedini, older Adcom, and Classe (older true Class A versions) that will drive just about anything.  I also agree that getting servicing on such amps is getting harder and harder to find, and some of those true class A amps are really heavy buggers (over 100 lbs.) so shipping isn't fun or cheap.

If you go that way, be aware that the ratings for Class A outputs are deceptive. I had my 45 watt amps driving the hell out of Apogee Scintillas which are a 1 ohm load and I still use one to drive original ML CLS, a fairly tough load and pretty low sensitivity speaker..
Post removed 
kiwilinn
4 posts
 
Plinius make warm sounding class A amps. Great 2nd hand value because they are from a small makerr by world standards but read the reviews!
More to discover