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Noob! Please help me replace my old power amp, some candidates listed.

ME

Elderly, lifelong guitarist, I have a few well maintained tube amp circuits (JTM45; overbuilt "double" 5E3 1x12 combo; 5F1 1x12 combo; Weber speakers and NOS tubes). I am NOT audiophile.

MY HiFi GEAR

Yamaha M1 (1984) power amp (this is what I'm wanting to improve on)
Kenwood Basic C1 preamp
TC-750LC phono pre (regulated supply)
Pioneer PL-A450 turntable; Denon DL-110 MC cart (yay!)
ADS L710 pair (6 ohm, 94db)
ADS L1090 pair (8 ohm, 90db)
Sansui SP-2500 pair (8 ohm, 100db)
iPad (DAC)

MY MUSIC SOURCES

FLAC library on Plex server over Wifi or 1000BaseT
Vinyl

MY APPLICATION

Small room, up close, not much conditioning but hope to add some.
I love electric blues, jazz, soul, pop and country but touch on everything. I play electric blues and love '70s fusion.

Looking to replace my dicey old power amp.

In general I like more reveal but I don't like "clinical" hifi, I have cheap but surprsingly effective Mackie active monitors that do that. Obviously I'm budget concious, lol!

MY AMP CANDIDATES

Audio by Van Alstine (AVA) MOS-FET 150B 
Early '80s and all original; $500 used; class a/b; 75w/ch; gorgeous "servicable" layout/build quality; conventional transformer


B&K (BK Components) ST-140
Early '80's usually all original; $300-$400 used; class a/b; 70w/ch (kinda confusing revision history)


AVA NP-1
$1200 new, $800 used; class a/b; 55w/ch; I assume surface mount


Buckeye Hypex NCx252MP
$625 new; class D; 150w/ch; surface mount (board swap repair only)


Class D Audio USA Premium GaN 3.5
$750 new; class D; 135w/ch; surface mount (board swap repair only)

 

Admittedly class D makes me nervous but I'm open if the hype is even somewhat justified. I will do a tube amp eventually, but today I just want to plug in a new-to-me SS power amp. I'd do a Zen Triode but I might not live long enough, lol!

 

Brand new here so I hope I'm doing this right? Thanks!

caseylol
zlone
1,329 posts
 

I second the recommendation to avoid the vintage components, they are likely tired by now. I would also challenge hanging on to the preamp, it is the heart of your system and should be updated along with the amp. You don’t know what you are missing.

I have no specific recommendations. AVA has always been known for high quality at a reasonable price. 

miter53
4 posts
 

The LSA Warp 1 is in your price range (around 800 used) and a great option. Very neutral and transparent.

dynacohum
833 posts
 

Van Alstine MOSFET 150 would appeal to me. Or a restored GAS Son of Ampzilla. 

doni
448 posts
 

If you can find one, the Nuforce STA200 is a wonderful A/B power amp, based on the Job 225, but with less power, about 70wpc.  It is high gain (about 36), is very fast, and pairs well with most any preamp, even passive's.  Sounds great with any pair of speakers I've used it with over the years.

mashif
471 posts
 

I would look for a lightly used Parasound A23+. It's a great amp and can usually be found for $750 or so. 

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