Power amp recommendations for 1000 and under

Sean, thank you very much for your thorough post. I'm surprised that Threshold products in particular would be so sensitive to thier given load(?). I now have more rather than less to ponder as I didn't realize these products were so system dependent. Am I correct in my assumption that they are a bit more dependant than most others? BTW, while I agree with you that the Rega Planet is on the dark side, I seem to hear (it has been a while) a small band of bightness with this player that can be some what irritating. This is not meant to be a knock on this superb value player.

Sean, any thoughts on the Coda amps? There seems to be a Threshold connection here aw well.

Unsound: I am not familiar with Coda products other than knowing that some former Threshold employees now work there. I have wanted to check out some of their power amps, just never had the opportunity to.

As to some of the Threshold products being "somewhat unstable" or changing sound with different loads, Moncrieff mentions this in some of his reviews but states that he basically likes the sonics of them when well matched. He is one of the few reviewers that actually checks for "load imperturbability" ( boy, is that a mouthful !!! ). John Atkinson has also mentioned this to some extent, even going so far as to say that some amps change tonal balance as the volume is altered ( Rotel ). I think that many amps / preamps are somewhat sensitive in this area and that is why cable selection is so system dependent. Sean
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I bought a Legacy 4/3/2 (manufactured by Coda) for under $1k. I use it in 2 channel mode which operates in class A mode up to about 25 wpc then gracefully transitions to class A/B up to 450 wpc into 4 ohms. It sounds as good as anything I've ever heard. The class A mode provides low distortion and wonderful detail at low volume while the 450 watts frees the sound from the speakers. Nothing seems to come directly from my speakers (Infinity Prelude MTS) unless the source was recorded that way. I've experimented with the 4 channel mode which provides 225 wpc into 4 ohms and you can definitely tell the difference, even at moderate levels. Power is good.

levinson m29