Best Amp to drive my Apogee Stages?

Class D would be fine for your second system Clavil, but there is no class D amplifier in the same league as the Rowland

oh yes there is the Rowland 312 ...

it would be very interesting to realize a blind test especially with all people who claim class D is not good enough

02-12-10: Clavil
it would be very interesting to realize a blind test especially with all people who claim class D is not good enough

Do any of the current Class D offerings have the same, or equal, continuous current output capability as the late 80's/early 90's classic 100% Class A classics from Krell, Classe, Levinson, Rowland, etc?

Darkmoebius, yes, many class D amps are capable of much higher output than older Class A classics. For example, the Wyred 4 Sound ST-1000 puts out 570 watts/channel into 8-ohms and 1,140 Wpc into 4 ohms.

I personally, have not found a better sounding/performing amp than the W4S STI-500, which puts out 250Wpc into 8-ohms and 550Wpc into 4-ohms. A used ST-500 (the basic power amp, not the integrated) could likely be found in your preferred price range of $1200 and would pretty much smoke anything else that you could find for that kind of money, in my view.

Many of those who say these class-D amps are not in the same league with other great sounding conventional amplifiers have not actually compared them head to head...

Rrog, I'm not sure if your aware that most of Rowland's most recent amps are Class D. The last I heard D'Agostino's status with Krell is pending a court decision. Threshold's can either be repaired by the new owners of Threshold or by Jon Soderberg of Vintage Amp Repair. Jon was with Threshold when Nelson Pass was at the helm of Threshold. Jon might very well have been the person repairing ones Threshold amp back then. Jon has an inventory of Threshold parts and has a very good reputation, I too can vouch for his work. Nelson Pass has also demonstrated perhaps the most generous gift of his time and expertise in the industry with his help usually being available on DYYaudio.com.

1. The Rowland Model 5 & Model 7s are getting old.
I don't believe Rowland will want to support or repair them indefinitely. Older Model 5s & Model 7s have been through many thermal cycles - being turned on & off. The output transistors eventually fail & they are expensive to replace.
I'm not biased against Jeff Rowland. I own a Model 2 & I will not sell it anytime soon. It just sounds too good to me.
2. I own (7) Murano monoblocs. These are close in build to the Rowland 501s, they have the same B&O module. These will drive the Stages, the problem is a pair of Rowland 501s used are at least $3500.00, in good shape.
3. I'm going to suggest you try an Adcom 5500. I owned 2 of these and one will output 300 watts per channel to your Stages. They only cost around $550.00 used, you can buy an Adcom GFP 750 with the rest of your budget, and upgrade to any fully balanced amp later, the GFP 750 will be good enough to use with any amp already suggested..