140 watts/ch @ 8 ohms.
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?
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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.
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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. |
BRYSTON 4BST - Powerful, built like a tank and sound great (albeit, a little sterile). Tough to beat within your budget. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbh04d-bryston-4b-st-stereo-amplifier-in-black-solid-state |
Preamps are critical, and assuming the preamp section in your DAC/pre prolly isn’t all that I think an integrated amp may be a good idea as you’d be killing two birds with one stone. The MF M3si you mentioned is underpowered for your situation IMO, but this used M6i definitely is not (200 Wpc into 8 Ohms and doubles into both 4 and again into 2 Ohms!) and I think very worth considering. Best of luck. |
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