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Which Solid State Amplifier is Making you Happy?

I'm trying to find a new amplifier to replace a Musical Fidelity A3CR. There are lots of candidates: Rowland 501s, Pass Labs 350.5, Levinson 431/432, H2O, etc. What are people using and what has been a good sonic investment? I'm currently driving B&W N803s, so it's a pretty normal load. My MF amp does not offer enough punch or bass control. It flattens out at higher volumes. I'll spend what it takes, new or used. Less than $8K would be nice. All comments welcome.
Peter
pscialli

Showing 3 responses by mitch2

mitch2
3,684 posts
 
Whatever you consider them, I agree with Nolitan, the Lamm hybrids are the end of the line for me. The M1.1 is what I can afford for now, but the 1.2 is on the horizon. Pretty close to everything I could hope for.
mitch2
3,684 posts
 
McCormack DNA-500, definitely. Others considered were the Pass .5 series, Sim W-6 or W-10, Belles 150A Reference monos, and Krell cx models.
mitch2
3,684 posts
 
Denf, Unfortunately, I have never heard the Halo JC-1's, but I would really like to hear them someday. They were actually my other "finalist" when I purchased the McCormack and I forgot to list them in my post above. I don't know that they would better the DNA-500, but I would guess the choice would boil down to system matching. The McCormack works well in mine.
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