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Best Solid State Amp For 10k Or Less

I'm auctioning off my Aragons to put towards the purchase of 'my last amp'. Wondering what people think. I have a Krell HTS as a preamp and Dynaudio 3.3's as mains. All I'm concerned with at this time is two channel sound...home theater can take a back seat for a while. My 'short' list is made up of Mark Levinson 335 or 336,Krell FPB300C or perhaps the FPB600c if I can find a deal,Classe 401, Plinius SA250. My musical tastes lean towards classic rock and jazz.What do you think?
sg69
subaruguru
1,376 posts
 
Hi John! I'm using Red Dawn throughout: 1m RCA Rotel 855/AlephP, 4.5m XLR between P and 2 monos, and 2.5m revII to Verity Encores. Spectral balance is great, but top octaves "clicky" and gritty, probably due to the Rotel. I was surprised to find that the BelCanto DAC sounded uptilted and "whitish" up top in this system. I decided to return to my Rotel rather than band-aid the BelCanto system with a "warm" IC. Still not sure how to upgrade the front end....suggestions? Local dealer's Rega Planet 2000 MAY be worth a demo--can't get anyone to respond to that thread, however. I know some have characterized the Nordost as wimpy in the bass, but I notice NO difference in bottom slam if I parallel-in some 12 gauge in an A/B test, so in my setup the 13 AWG-equivalent RD revII works fine (it's only 8', afterall). Nonetheless do you think the Red Dawn IC exagerrates treble transients...that "clickiness"?...or is that my Rotel CDP? Sorry to sidetrack the thread...happy holidays to all. Ernie
celery
33 posts
 
I listen to mostly classic rock myself and I have really enjoyed my Electrocompanient amplifier. The AW180 dual mono is ss bliss. I have the AW120 and it sounds equally as good but with a little less power. I listened to alot of the amplifiers you mentioned and I personally liked the character of the EC better to my ears. It really shines with great IC's. The EC sounded right on rock and roll and alot of gear does not. If you are in the market for a ss amplifier don't overlook EC. Gryphon is also quite nice. No advertising budget either, just quality gear that sounds great. My 2 cents
john_l
782 posts
 
Hi Subaru. I think you're right on with the grittyness being in the cd player. I put a cheaper cd player into my system it displayed this exact characteristic. I'm really happy with my Sony XA7ES. It's within a wisper of my friends Levinson 36 DAC. Can pick those up used for 1100ish. The Levinson guy also had a rega planet as his transport for a while. The system sounded very good. He upgraded the planet to a dedicated (EAD 1000?) transport and found the system has greatly improved. He's got a full blown spectral/MIT setup which is the quietest and most detailed I have ever heard - so keep that in mind.

I think the nordosts aren't weak in the bass, but they do emphasize the treble. I tried some 'ace of bass' $2000 speaker cables this weekend. The treble was turned down and the bass up little. Red Dawns were a much better match for my system. Never seen such an extreme case of system compatibility. I'm trying to find some Yamamura 6000 cables to try - heard those are another 'ideal' match for pass labs/virgo's. Take care.

By the way, Subes are great! They ( and 4x4 toyota pu's :> ) were a great choice for outdoors in Colorado. On dirt road trip one time, I swear to god the Sube Outback was eating a Ford Explorer and 4x4 S-10 for lunch! It actually had better ground clearance than the trucks!
calloway
874 posts
 
i agree with snook2. the aloia amps are the best around.lars fredell is having a hard time deciding whether he likes his aloia system or his lamm system at almost 5x the cost.
fpeel
455 posts
 
They're little more than station wagons and make terrible off road vehicles. Subarus, OTOH, are great vehicles. There's no surprise at all that an Outback would out perform the Fords.
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