Which is the best solid state poweramp under $9000

I have heard the McIntosh 501 monoblocks driving the new B&W 802D and it was quite good. I took the 501's home to try on my Aerial 20t's. Great midrange, instruments had plenty of space and soundstage was excellent. Bass control on my aerials left a little bit to be desired. A very, very little bit. My current Levinson 33H/336 bi-amp combo is still in place......however I was very very impressed with the 501's overall. Very tough to go wrong with these if they work in your system.

Best advice I can give you is try before you buy. Dealers in my area are discounting the 501's to about $7200+/-

Take them home and try 'em.

Best,

Paul :-)

Uriah, I am sure the new MC-501 is a great amps. I have not heard it, but the reviews are positive.

Before you spend some major $$ try actively biamping the 3.6R's with the CA400 on the bottom and 301 on top using a Byston 10B Sub crossover. Buy the crossover used. You can easily sell it off if you don't feel it's for you.

This kind of power will really open up the 3.6R's.

That's my 2 Cents

Uriah,I would highly recommend the new Pass Lab's 350.5,which I did a review on recently here on the GON. I won't restate the content of my review,but the the 350.5 is the best amp that has ever powered my MG-20Rs.It replaced a Edge NL-10 that is quite an amp itself but the 350.5 was much better in my system. I do bi-amp my maggies but the Pass should have no trouble powering your 3.6s. The new .5 series is not just an improvement over the original X series but a qualitive shift towards the reference of live music. I hope you at least include this amp in your audtioning process,I think you might be amazed. It retails for 9500.00 but you could get one for less with the right dealer.

Have a listen to Jeff Rowland's 501 mono blocks (500w/ch), they have the power and musicality to suit your B&W802s. Don't let their small footprint discourage you. These sexy looking amps sound wonderfully muscular and refined driving my father in laws B&W803 in a large living room. They also sounded great driving my B&W 804s, however I own the smaller version Jeff Rowland 201s (250w/ch)which sound similar.