I am a dealer for Talon having the Khorus X, the Ravens, and the Kites in the showroom.
I also carry the Bel Canto amps, the Joule Electra's, the Pass, the Red Rose, the Electrocompaniet, and the Aronov's although they are being discontinued for a new design.
I will not talk about the Tube amps because you seem more comfortable with solid state.
We have had the Edge amps in here because alot of my good friends such as Caelin Gabriel from Shunyata and Mike Farnsworth of Talon are friends with the owner of Edge and like the product and it is one of the amps that Talon recommends.
We have taken in many Rowland amps in on trade and Talon used to show exclusively with Rowland and now Electrocompaniet.
You do not mention your preamp nor source which has a huge bearing on which amp is going to work best for you.
I will try to give you some indication of what many of the amps did with the equipment we used. I will state here that I personally highly recommend a tube preamp with a solid state amp.
In our listening sessions we used either the Red Rose Silver Signature preamp or the First Sound Paramount preamp both single ended, no remote, tube designs. A mix of Vahalla, Synergistic DR Square X, and Shunyata speaker cables and interconnects. Powercords were an Electraglide Khan to the Hydra, Anaconda VX to the Mephisto 2, 2 Audio Magic Clarevoyant to the Preamp, and Synergistic DR Square X to the amps.
The Lamm amps do a wonderful job of soundstaging and have no weakness sonically. If I was going to nit pick them it would be that they need to hire someone to design their chassis and they were not as seductive as I personally like.
The Rowland equipment has a very relaxed sound with good bottom end,looks and build quality are amazing. The Edge equipment is very fast and transparent with a touch of a bite. The Bel Canto amps which many people consider the cats meow with the Talon's are a great value and the new look is a very elegant improvement.
The Nemos are an excellent match with the Talons and like the Bel Canto's do not warm up a room which is a positive to some people. A very lush sound that in someways is more like a tube amp. I personally use the Pass 600's and have loved them from the day that I first put them into the system. Considering the fact that I have always been a tube person it is an amazing change for me. The Pass in the system described have a delicacy that none of the other amps can capture. Some of the amps mentioned are a touch more romantic, some have better bottom end, many are more aggressive. But in totality I love the Pass amps. But as any Audiophile I am always seeking improvement. I am waiting with bated breath for the new Electrocompaniet AW 220's which I have been told by one of my friends at Talon are the most amazing amps that they have heard. Pass is soon to introduce the new XA 150 and XA 200 I have been trying to get a pair since the last CES show. These are nowhere in your budget.
Let me close by stating that I listen to Folk, Smooth Jazz, and New Age music. I like a very relaxed comfortable listening environment that I can listen for hours on end without fatique. That is not the sound that every one prefers. Many of my good friends, especially younger friends like a more aggressive sound and I have absolutely no idea where your preferences maybe.
Good Luck!
I also carry the Bel Canto amps, the Joule Electra's, the Pass, the Red Rose, the Electrocompaniet, and the Aronov's although they are being discontinued for a new design.
I will not talk about the Tube amps because you seem more comfortable with solid state.
We have had the Edge amps in here because alot of my good friends such as Caelin Gabriel from Shunyata and Mike Farnsworth of Talon are friends with the owner of Edge and like the product and it is one of the amps that Talon recommends.
We have taken in many Rowland amps in on trade and Talon used to show exclusively with Rowland and now Electrocompaniet.
You do not mention your preamp nor source which has a huge bearing on which amp is going to work best for you.
I will try to give you some indication of what many of the amps did with the equipment we used. I will state here that I personally highly recommend a tube preamp with a solid state amp.
In our listening sessions we used either the Red Rose Silver Signature preamp or the First Sound Paramount preamp both single ended, no remote, tube designs. A mix of Vahalla, Synergistic DR Square X, and Shunyata speaker cables and interconnects. Powercords were an Electraglide Khan to the Hydra, Anaconda VX to the Mephisto 2, 2 Audio Magic Clarevoyant to the Preamp, and Synergistic DR Square X to the amps.
The Lamm amps do a wonderful job of soundstaging and have no weakness sonically. If I was going to nit pick them it would be that they need to hire someone to design their chassis and they were not as seductive as I personally like.
The Rowland equipment has a very relaxed sound with good bottom end,looks and build quality are amazing. The Edge equipment is very fast and transparent with a touch of a bite. The Bel Canto amps which many people consider the cats meow with the Talon's are a great value and the new look is a very elegant improvement.
The Nemos are an excellent match with the Talons and like the Bel Canto's do not warm up a room which is a positive to some people. A very lush sound that in someways is more like a tube amp. I personally use the Pass 600's and have loved them from the day that I first put them into the system. Considering the fact that I have always been a tube person it is an amazing change for me. The Pass in the system described have a delicacy that none of the other amps can capture. Some of the amps mentioned are a touch more romantic, some have better bottom end, many are more aggressive. But in totality I love the Pass amps. But as any Audiophile I am always seeking improvement. I am waiting with bated breath for the new Electrocompaniet AW 220's which I have been told by one of my friends at Talon are the most amazing amps that they have heard. Pass is soon to introduce the new XA 150 and XA 200 I have been trying to get a pair since the last CES show. These are nowhere in your budget.
Let me close by stating that I listen to Folk, Smooth Jazz, and New Age music. I like a very relaxed comfortable listening environment that I can listen for hours on end without fatique. That is not the sound that every one prefers. Many of my good friends, especially younger friends like a more aggressive sound and I have absolutely no idea where your preferences maybe.
Good Luck!