Best vintage amps (late 70s / early 80s) under $3k?

Pts, I wonder if any of the amps, posters are recommending, are amps that are stationary in their main listening rooms ? I know they were good in their day ( most have passed through my rooms ), but they do not compare to an M22. Get the Nuforce STA 200, and if you do not like it, return it. I rid myself of many amps this past year because of this " little " guy. I did not design it, nor do I have any affiliation with the company, but it sounds musical on several speakers I currently own, and I tried it on some other systems at some friends houses. Enjoy ! MrD.

mrdecibel - I wonder the same thing, but it's great to get recommendations from people who have been in the hobby far longer than myself. I google every amp that's suggested and read reviews and past forum discussions.

I wouldn't have bought the M-22 otherwise; that amp is truly loved by people who know what it's capable of. It's a shame about the heat, but hey, that Class A for you.

I do have a cool running 150W pre-lawsuit ODL (Odyssey Stratos) that's good for the summer months, but it's getting old (so old I wouldn't bother asking Klaus about refurbishment) and I can definitely do better.

I'm always hoping there are a few Audiogon-ers in the Los Angeles area that want to get together and shootout audio components over a few beers, but that doesn't always happen. You normally have to buy blind or hope there are a few audio stores around that have good demo rooms.

Regarding what you suggested; I actually know someone who has my speakers and a Nuforce STA 200 amp. He said it's decent, but not necessarily the best match. It's hear it's very impressive at first, but for longer listening sessions can get a little fatiguing due to the fast transient focus and slightly etched detail. Just one person's report though, I may still check it out.

Well of the things that I've heard from that era,  some already mentioned. 
Ampzilla.... Although the Son and Grandson sound better. 
Any of these with updated parts are excellent. 
Heathkit  AA-1600 & AA-1800.  Marshall Leach Amps, same as the others, with updated parts,  surprisingly good
Sumo Nine... Same, New power supply caps, replace most of the ceramic disc and this is an amazing amp today.  
Sumo Andromeda,  More power, but in my opinion, not as good as any above.  Odd because the Nine updated is probably the best by a small margin. 
Dynaco ST-70  in Tubes and ST-410 in solid state.  
SAE Mark series/00 series and 01 series... (not all, but many are really good with some decent parts upgrade. 
Sony TA-N80ES  excellent
I'm sure some would say Hafler... DH500,  I Had one,  it was ok
Eagle Kinetics pretty good
The Pioneer M22 has been mentioned, didn't have the power of the Spec's but sounded much better. 
A lot of people liked the Yammys… not me
Kenwood L07M.... really not bad 150 watt mono amps
The Carvers of that Era, I did not like at all
The Adcoms everyone knows those 
Phase Linear... several liked them,  not my cup of tea 
Kinergetics Research was certainly decent to very good depending on model. 
Nikko had a ton of Amps, I've heard at least 1 that was pretty good and 1 that WAS NOT... sorry, don't remember models. 
Amber 70 was a decent sounding amp
Threshold had a couple of good amps then... 
A lot of people like the big Rotel amp out then.  I thought it was mediocre
Of course Krell had the big KSA amps out,  they were good
Harmon Kardon… Don't remember, but one of the Citation amps was good
Ok,  I'm blanking on any more for the time being,  maybe more later

Thank you, timlub. Anything specific from your list that sounded like the M-22 on steroids and didn't run hot? That's what I'm after, ideally.

pts....you can look for a Pioneer Series 20 M25, which shares the family sound with the M22, but having both, I would still stick with the M22. Once you go class A, it is hard for your ears to adjust to anything else. You and I both know the sonic wonder of the M22. There was a poster ( porsche something ) on the Tekton Double Impact thread that used an M22, and found something else to replace it, but if I remember correctly, it was also heat producing. I will gladly purchase your M22 when you are ready to sell, lol. P.S. : When I owned my M22, and I had a few of them, I changed out the ac cord to a much heavier gauge, it it made a wonderful improvement. I also believe the bias can be reset, taking it out of class A, and giving it more output, which is something to consider. Good Luck....Enjoy ! MrD.