used power amp under 1500


I started with a great system and I managed to downgrade it to an OK sound through a lot of trades, sales, questionable decisions and shrinking budget. (No regrets, it's been a fun journey.) I ended up with very low sensitivity, hard to drive speakers and now I need more power. Will 100 Watts be enough and is it OK and safe to buy used? Any brands that are a good value at $1500?

parkergetdean

Thanks @dweller 

I am a Marantz fan in general and I might just try it. My main concern is to have enough juice

Odyssey is great sounding stuff. Will power pretty much anything and stable to 2 ohms. A Stratos was my first “real” amp back in like 2000. Had it for probably 10 years. Later got another Stratos Extreme used I kept for a while. No complaints just always trying new stuff. I will say they seem to be a little finicky with incoming power. Both of them I had at 2 different locations I had to float the ground or I got a buzz out of the speakers. YMMV. I had the original Stratos at one point with Dynaudio Focus 140s and it would slap those things around like nothing. Up to a certain point they sounded like much bigger punchy speakers. They would crap out at a certain volume with bass heavy tracks but that was the speakers not the amp. 
 

At $1,500 new I think you would be hard pressed to beat a Stratos especially if you need the power. 
 

 

Hey @parkergetdean 

I used to own a pair of Dynaudio S5.4. The last amp I used with them before I sold them was a Rogue ST-100. Terrific amp. Drove the speakers fine. Should be nice with your Dynaudios. 
If you are patient you can score one on a used market for around your target budget may be slightly over. 
Good luck.