Power amp around $3000 for C-J Classic preamp

I agree with several postings above that you should decide on the speakers first. Vandersteens have a reputation for working well with McCormack and Audio Research amps. A used cj MF2500A would be another good match for the Vandies and certainly with the cj classic preamp. One more thought about the McCormack...you could buy one for under your current price limit and have it upgraded by SMc Audio. I am currently running an extensively modified DNA-1 Deluxe into 3A Sigs. with great results. The high current of the McC really coaxes the dynamics out of the Vandies.

Thank you all for your advice. I'm pretty much convinced I will go with the Vandersteen as my local dealer happens to carry both Conrad-Johnson and Vandersteen and they've been pretty good to me. Also, I might keep my Hawks around as well so I think a solid state with some extra muscle is the route I'm going to go.

A few extra questions:
1. I noticed the C-J mf 2500a is not a current C-J product. Is this an issue as far as availability? It seems I can find a used one easily, but the fact that is appears to be discontinued worries me a little. And why discontinue a fantastic match to a new preamp with a great matching price? I'm baffled.
2. Foster_9, I too wondered about the impedance matching and was wondering whether you or someone else could explain a little more what to look for. (I'm using an integrated amp so this has not been an issue for me and thus eludes me.)
3. Musical Fidelity recommendation. What I've heard from MF always blew me away so I'd be very happy to own their amp, but the recommended 308 appears to be an integrated amp and also no longer in production. Any current MF power amps that might fit the bill?

Thank you!

Hello,
Currently Spectron Audiois haviing promotion for its Musician III which should fit in your price range.

They do not have problem with impedance as their recent models have all 50 kOhms input impedance !

In recent post by Lube3 (Lube?) he compared McCormacks 750 with Spectrons and Spectrons 'smoked' this competition - do search, its here on A-goN discussion forum

I and many others owned in the past tube amps and Spectron is well among the best

All The Best in your Search!
Rafael

The conrad johnson can be paired perfectly with a LP66S power amp, it is the perfect match for bright sounding speakers.

If you are looking for powerful amp under $3K new to match with the cj Classic and big Vandys, I might suggest:

Cambridge Audio 840W - unique design inside, great result.

Vincent Audio SP-T100 Hybrid Mono amplifier - not full on solid state amp, but powerful and great anyway, and in your price range for a pair new.

Odyssey Audio Stratos Mono Extreme - My favorite Sleeper product - in this case the hybridization is German engineering and built in the USA - they are almost as good as our hockey team, but in this case, you win!

At a bit to well over the $3K price point you could check out:

Musical Fidelity M6PRX - latest 260W offering from the company that thinks power is almost everything.

Bryston 3B-SST2 - if you like that sort of thing, transparency may match well with cj warmth and Vandy presentation - although the 4B might better marshall the big Vandys around - Oh Canada!

McCormack DNA-250 - va va voom!