Best power amp for under 1K

I've had both the Forte and the Mccormacks (o.5 and 1). the 0.5 sounds better if you dont need the extra power. The Forte is very nice sounding, but runs hot (Class A, duh!) and there is no manufacturer support. The McCormacks can be upgraded later when you have the $$ and Steve Mc provides great support through his SMcAudio.com

A Rotel 991 or 1080 would be on my short list. These are excellent SS amps. You can get the 991 for under 600 and the 1080 for about 700. A Parasound HCA 1500A will also do the job for under 600 bucks. All these amps are well designed and reliable but most importantly they offer excellent sound for the money. There's a 1500A on Agon right now.

If you had the money I'd recommend a hybrid like Blue Circle, AVA or Music Reference. Outstanding sound but not cheap.

Thanks for all of your inputs. Question: why are the Monster Cable amps selling so cheap on E-bay? Are they any good?

Counterpoint SA or NPS series if you like a tube front end with ss output. For all ss, I would start with McCormack DNA series.