Best used amp for around 500

A surprising "ringer" in this category is the Yamaha M-80. Besides being the best sounding amp that Yamaha ever made, it is a TRUE "dual mono" design, complete with seperate transformers and power supplies for each channel. Beat the hell out of a Bryston 4B when i did a side by side comparison ( no offense Sugar ). Another good point about this amp is that it can sometimes be found for as low as $250. Plenty of power as it is 250 wpc @ 8, has jacks and switching for three sets of speakers. Only problem is that the binding posts ARE "funky", so you might have a hard time with various connectors.

As to the Muse amps, they are good quality. Like many other amps of that vintage though, they make use of Mosfets that are no longer available or in production. Should something go wrong with it, you might have to scavenge parts, etc...

Whatever you choose to do, you are in the right place to find some GREAT deals. Sean
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Clueless, i've got a modified PAS 3 running a Marantz 8 in my basement system. Out of curiosity, what speakers are you running ?

To keep things on track here, you guys know that i would HIGHLY second the little Forte' amps. They are quite load sensitive though as we've come to find out, so might not be good in all situations. If you can find a complimentary set of speakers and cables, personally, i think that they are untouchable for the money. The suggestion about the Classe' 70 might be good if Dklap wants something to brighten and liven up the sound of their "pretty warm, laid back" Aegis 3's. Sean
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Thanks for filling me in Clueless. Glad to see that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty too : )

While i sometimes hook up different speakers there, i am usually using a set of modded La Scala's or Heresy's. I currently have the Heresy's GUTTED and am not quite sure what i'm going to do with them. Thinking about building a completely different cabinet and augmenting the bass in some manner. Another project on my list to do this year.

As to the main thread here, do you plan to use the preamp section of the receiver to drive the power amp or go directly into the power amp via variable output controls on a source ? Sean
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