Good brands of amps (1 Viewer)

[Chris Tabor]

What are some good brands of amps and what are their characteristics(warm, bright, neutral, etc...)??? By good I mean how denon and h/k are to receivers what are some amps that fall in the good quality affordable range? I'm looking at approximately $1000 per channel so what could this get me?

 

[Yogi]

$1000/ch can get you amps in the league of Proceed, Theta and Krell (KAV series) which are amongst the best solid state amps out there, IMHO.

 

[MikeTz]

Chris:

At $1000 per channel you can get some outstanding stereo or multichannel amplifiers. Consider any of the following:

Bryston
Classe
B&K
Parasound
Musical Fidelity
PS Audio
Cary

There are many more choices at this performance level and I'm sure the other folks on this forum will chime in. I didn't characterize any of the amps because what sounds one way on my system might sound another way on your system. Any of these amps will make you happy and there are a lot more in your price range that I didn't list.

MT

 

[Ken Custodio]

I agree with the Bryston recommendation, they are definitely great sounding amps, built like tanks and have 20year warranty.

I always check out the 6BSST when I visit my local audio store, but they are just a bit out of my price range.

 

[John-Tompkins]

DANG, 1000 A CHANNEL ! AWESOME.

Are you talking about 5 channel amps ?
Music or two channel priority ?
What is you current setup (speakers, size of room ?

5000 for a 5 channel amp as stated by others will get you the cream of the crop..the skies the limit, as already named by MikeTZ.

But remember that you should spend your money in proportion to your other gear. For example, you wouldnt want to spend 5000.00 on an amp to drive 2500.00 speakers..So if you could list your other gear people may be able to give you better advice.

 

[Ernest Yee]

MikeTz:

You would consider Parasound in the same league as the others you mentioned? I thought they were in the same league as the $2000 Rotel, Anthem arena.

But I definitely agree w/ the others you mentioned.

 

[Chris Tabor]

I'm actually in the first stages of building the system. I'm going to be building a house and am planning on a room EXCLUSIVELY for home theater. The only other thing i've really decided on for sure is the svs b4-plus subwoofer. I need to get out and listen to more speakers to fully decide. I'm currently upgrading from a klipsch r7 series 7.1 setup and denon 4802 receiver. I'm fairly new to high end home theater so I welcome any recommendations with open arms.

 

[dale^g]

WOW...B4+?....your neighbors will REALLY love you! sounds like you're going to have an awsome set-up. BTW, can you get me an application to where you work? i'd like to be able to spend that kind of money too and quit the sodapop stand where i get my cash!

 

[Marty Neudel]

Chris,

you might want to add McIntosh and Lexicon to your short list, especially the Mac.

Marty

 

[NicholasL]

You would consider Parasound in the same league as the others you mentioned? I thought they were in the same league as the $2000 Rotel, Anthem arena.

The classic line, yes. The Halo line is probably what he was referring to.

 

[Scott_N]

I would add Bel Canto, Marsh Sound Design and Sim Audio to your list.

 

[Rich Wenzel]

If money was no object, I would get Balanced Audio Technology. Tough, I think that they are a bit out of your price range...

You don't say anything about power needs and listening preferences...

At $1000 a channel, if you need tons of power, you look at things like the Rotel 1090, 380 watts per...Not that I think you need that kind of power...If you have modest power needs, you can start looking at a lot of the brands mentioned here as well as Conrad Johnson, McCormack, & a few others.

Rich

 

[ChrisLazarko]

I would recommend an Aragon. They are very nice amplifiers, alot of good power. They also have a nice design to them, very stylish... Take a look at them!

 

[Shawn O]

Check out Audio Refinement,YBA's budget line.I traded in my Bryston 4B-st as a partial trade on the Multi-5.I still can't believe how much more detail the Multi-5 has.

Shawn

 

[Rich Wenzel]

on the aragorns,

this is $1500 per channel, but still, 400 wpc

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/pr...ers%20-%20Pair

 

[Khoa Tran]

I second the BAT

it's out of the price range but i think you should listen, pass labs maybe you could get a few used on audiogon?

 

[Chris Tabor]

I'm kind of liking the bryston with the 20yr warranty. If there isn't a whole lot of difference in sound quality with this catagory then i'd definately consider a good warranty in my final decision. Are there others that offer that kind of warranty?

 

[Chris Tabor]

rich, I like the idea of the monoblocks. If I went that route I could always just spend a little less on the other channels and use them for my mains. BY the way what is balanced and unbalanced inputs?

 

[John Robert]

I think that the amp will contribute much less to the "sound" of your system than the sources, processor and (duh!) speakers. I would go Outlaw monoblocks or Earthquake Cinenova - either would give you plenty of power. Now, how about taking the savings and going $1K per channel on your 7.1 speakers!!!

 

[Rich Wenzel]

John, I slightly disagree with you, i personally believe the source (digital anyways) adds the least sound characteristics, but I agree speakers are way ahead on that list...

Chris, tell us more about your system....we wants to know...even if its just to make us envious...

As for balanced and unbalanced inputs, someone more knowledgeable should explain it to you, ill just say balanced is better, but i don't know if you can hear a difference...Generally speaking, only professional audio equipment (which sometimes needs to do really long cable runs and that makes cabling important) and high-end consumer audio use balanced inputs...unbalanced are the normal interconnects...some high-end cd players have balanced outputs...

since i feel like being helpful today...

this place has some discounted conrad johnsons due to cosmetic blemishes (still brand new equipment)

http://www.spearitsound.com/index.htm

and dmc-electronics.com has some pass labs stuff....