What 135W or more amplifier do you like?

[rmihai]

What 135W or a bit more amplifier do you like?

My budget is limited to US$1,100.

Thank you

 

[anatech]

Hi rmihai,
Do oldies count?

If so, Marantz 300DC, Nak Stassis PA-5 or PA-7 (type II's as well). There are others.

-Chris

 

[rmihai]

Thank you Chris - sure oldies count.

Which will be those "others"?

 

[anatech]

Hi rmihai,
Too many to list. Luxman comes to mind, some newer Marantz stuff and I am positive others would love to dive in with their opinion. 😉

-Chris

 

[doorman]

There's always a used Bryston 3B. Because of the original 20 yr. factory warranty, there's usually quite a bit of time left even on used ones.

 

[anatech]

Hi Doorman,
True, but original xB's sound like , you need to get into SST's before they actually sound good. I would have mentioned them otherwise. SST's will exceed the budget I would think.

-Chris

 

[Burnedfingers]

Oldies but goodies

 

[SY]

Original production Adcom 555. They'll drive anything it seems.

 

[doorman]

Agreed, no 3B I've heard has screamed "buy-me"! OTOH, I use a 2wpc. SET. Not exactly everybody's cup of tea either!
Best, Don

 

[anatech]

Hi SY,
For sure, many Adcom products would fit well. Any more we can't remember? Heck, even the newer Carver's were "okay". Silly power.

-Chris

 

[K-amps]

For $1100 or less you can get a Krell KAV-150a (150wpc). Sounds very good.

Then there is the KSA-100mk.II for same price, pure class-A and clips at about 130wpc with 120w pure class A in real world... though I prefer the sound of the KAV-150a.

Also the Forte Audio Model 3, 200wpc is very detailed. Lacks in bass punch but that can be fixed with a few cap add ons on the power supply side. You can get one for less than $700.

Nak PA7 as Chris says is another sweet amp.

 

[jblmar]

Marantz 300DC. Great sound!!

Ron

 

[anatech]

I like it. It's normally the amp I use in the main system.

-Chris 😉

 

[Burnedfingers]

If we can drop down to 125 per channel the MArantz M-250 gets my vote.

 

[anatech]

Hi Joe,
You forgot about the little (better sounding) 500. It was around 80 pounds as I recall. 😉

-Chris

 

[Burnedfingers]

Hi Chris,

I never played with a 500 so I cannot comment. I heard they sounded good but sometimes let some smoke out. The 250 had a nice liquid midrange for a SS amp.

 

[ilimzn]

If you are into integrateds (with pre out - main in terminals, of course), you may want to look into getting a Kenwood Model 600 (NOT KA600!). They are rare and tend to fetch a whole lot $ than they used to 4 years ago, before it became generally known what t hey are 🙂 Recap that one and you get a truly amazing amp, even though it is an oldie.

 

[jblmar]

Hey Chris,
I have mine since 1978.

Ron

 

[anatech]

Hi Ron,
Don't want to go too far OT here.

So you got yours new with a 3650? (great preamp but the phono stage goes into thermal runaway and burns up).
Mine was used, couldn't afford one new so I had to wait. I rebuilt mine later on. I need to rebuild my 3650 and SC-9.

Hi Joe,
The 500 was very reliable. It's just people did silly things with them. 250 W/8, 500 W/4. I wouldn't mind gettting one and rebuilding it for myself some day. I should say I have seen some pretty awful service done on these. The amp deserves better.

-Chris

 

[jblmar]

Hi Chris,
Never had the 3650 phono stage problem. Works fine all these years and sounds great. Yes, I bought the 300DC, 3650 and 2130 in September 1978, all new. The 3650 arrived in March (March 7) 1979. The 300DC did go into thermal runaway on the right channel amplifier board 3 years ago. I traced the problem to a defective varistor. The bias is created in that circuit. No adjustments. The components create the +/- 0.6 VDC bias.

Ron