Personal amp evolution

Just 3 months ago I said I was happy & would keep the Ayre V-5x & while I wasn't actively seeking another amp, the opportunity to upgrade to an Ayre V-1x "fell into my lap" and has now become part of my system.

Onkyo / Yamaha / Denon / Harman-Kardon / Cambridge Audio / Musical Fidelity

I had some all in one systems as a kid, but my first real amp was purchased in 1984 and was an Onkyo TX-35 Receiver. I then purchased a a Yamaha integrated in the late 80's and a Denon integrated around the early to mid 90's. Oh, I also had a Kenwood in there for a period of about a week - but it sounded horrid. I kept the Denon until 1999 when it decided to start giving me switching problems and I purchased a Harman-Kardon amp.

As you can see - I was pretty much confined to "big-box" stores for my equipment selection and I ran the whole line of the better brands available from such stores. I can honestly say that up until the H/K I didn't hear much difference in all the others. I enjoyed the H/K quite a bit and it helped me rediscover my analog LP's which led me to upgrade my turntable (to a MMF-5) around 2002.

With the better turntable came a better amp - the Cambridge Audio 640A and a CIAudio VPP-1 phono-amp. The CA/CIAudio combination trounced the H/K in a major way!

I've again upgraded turntables this year to the Rega P5/Exact combination and couldn't resist the temptation to upgrade amps again. Thanks to Audiogon, I've got a very nice used Musical Fidelity A300 on the way, which I'm very excited about! I like the idea of having a good built in phono stage and everything I've read about the A300 leads me to believe that it will be with me for quite some time.

1)Denon reciever.Forgot the model
2) Stock Dynaco ST-70 with NOS tubes that cost more than the amp.
3) Pass Labs Aleph-3 Incredible but not enough power.
4) Electrocompaniet AW-75 Peak current in the high 80's.Reminded me of the Pass on steroids.I 'thought' this would be my last amp.
5) Threshold S/200 stasis.Loved it,wanted more.
6) Threshold S/300 stasis.This 'may' be my last amp.:>)
7) Looking for a 60-100 watt tube amp but the Threshold isnt going anywhere.(I hope)

1. Kenwood Reciever
2. Sonographe SA250 Used
3. Mark Levinson No 27 Used

1.B&K 5000 multichannel amp
2.Clayton s40
3.Batvk60 - my 1st tube amp.
4.Rowland Model 10
5.Belles 250i integrated
6.Panasonic sr45 digital amp while i waited on...
7.Rowland Concerto integrated. I love it and I'm done upgrading!