Pure Class-A Amp under $2000 (USED)


Hello everyone,

There are so many brands out there that I couldn't catch up with, so I opened a thread about Class-A Amp for discussion. My budget is around $2000 for a Stereo Amplifier (No need for Pre), could you guys help me to suggest me some?

- DAC: Exogal Comet

- Pre/Amp: Yamaha Intergrated A-9 (My current, but want to update)

- Speaker: Sonus Faber Venere 2.0

- Cable: Acrolink (Power, Interconnect, Speaker)

=> I think the wattage range between 30-60WPC for Class-A is powerful and popular. The production date of amplifier should not too old, I think after 199x is nice.

128x128darkknight8586

I have a LUXMAN 550ax2 in my tannoy system but just picked up jungson ja88 used for £400 ($470) and amazed ... Need to drop into the main system as think it could be as good as the luxman ... It's a bit more powerful 

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0809/jungson_ja88d.htm#:~:text=The%20JA%2D88D(09)%20was%20a%20joy%20to%20use,quickly%20got%20used%20to%20it.

It does suck about 380w from wall and get warm which is fine here in Scotland ....

Built very nice but heavy at 27kg and big so you need space on a rack or sideboard.

 

whatever you do, steer clear of that Emoteva tripe.

gain is ultra high, you will have tweeter hiss

plus the service on them is a disgrace to audio.

they are ok for what they are entry level stereo separates .

nothing more.  i did hear the new flagship speaker was fairly descent, despite the very low Watts/current allowed. for such a good size speaker, i think its only 250W

 

i do like the folded horn tweeter if the source material is well recorded.

heavy metal through the Emo amps was painful, they are bright, even with a 92 1w/1m pair of old speakers i had 15+ years ago.

they were ok for country, or reg rock, but metal,...aaaarrrgggghhhhh shrill, i even switched speakers, and still shrill and molar grinding.

had the xpa-1 monos.  big bulky, and those knight rider like blue meters on the front were making the amp look cheap and low end. as it is. i had them shut off from first warmup.

 

if you know about class A, im sure you know about that Emo mess

KRELL KSA 50 or KSA 100, both fantastically musical amps, and when funds permit an Audio Research pre an SP9 or LS2B.

I know they are old uns but are good uns, maybe not as detailed as later models but more engaging and less Hifi sounding.

Have any one try the Krell KSA50S, it's about $1500 in my country including the shipping.

FWIW...there is a First Watt M2 available right now for $1850. It will work well with 6-ohm speakers. Your sensitivity at 88dB is lower than I would like but you will get decent sound as long as you don't expect to rock the house. I have an F6 controlled by an NAD C658 connected to Focal Kanta No.2 speakers rated at 91dB efficiency and frankly they sound great and can put out enough volume to drive the wife out but I like MORE so I just ordered a set of Tekton DI's rated at 98dB efficiency. 

My 2 cents

Used First Watt M2 for Sale | HifiShark.com