Pass labs x350.5 VS. McIntosh MC402

Pani, thank you for the advice as I also had the MC501 and x600.5 amps floating around in the back of my mind. I do have a question for you on the Symphonic Line Kraft amp though.....this is a pure class A amplifier and I was wondering how much heat is an issue for your friend when driving difficult loads ?
My Infinity Kappa 9 speakers drop below 1 ohm and have a way of making most A/B class amps get very hot, very fast.

That being said, I would love to get the chance to hear any high end, full range loudspeaker with 300 watts of pure class A power behind them !

I re-read your post above about the Denon amp. Not knocking Denon, but 400 watts denon style, and 400-500 watts pass x250.5 style: no comparison. The Pass design increasingly makes more power into lower loads with ease and grace. I could not imagine a set of speakers that would tax this amp. I understand the K-9 are serious current suckers. You need a serious power supply to cope. I get it.

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, my money would be on a used Pass X250.5 ~ around 4k. I too am a working stiff with kids and value is a factor in my audio toys these days.

The McIntosh MC501 monos will run you closer to 6k, for approx the same power into 4 ohm and lower loads.

Another steller set of monos for the price would be Parasound JC-1.

Another beastly and great value amp would be McCormack DNA500. Pretty sure that would light your speakers up when necessary.

And lastly the Bryston 14 B-SST....600 wpc into 8, 900 into 4...

Hi Goodwr3nch, My friend drives his Apogee speakers which again dips to 1 ohm and the Kraft does it effortlessly. Surprisingly the Kraft does not heat as much as some other pure class A amps. They stay relatively cooler...may be they dont have to try too hard while driving difficult loads.
The current capability and damping factor these guys have are almost infinite...and the way they make music breathing and real is only to be heard. My friends who own Kraft have tried top class amps like Pass Labs, Accuphase, Gryphon, McIntosh...but once they heard a Kraft..it was the end.
Man, you have to hear what the Krafts do. They are my dream amps and I hope to own them one day.

Just saw a listing where the seller is also selling a Kraft 300:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Symphonic-Line-The-Reference-CD-Player_W0QQitemZ260388358677QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca05b0a15

Thank you Dpac996 for taking the time to come back and leave some very helpful suggestions. That is exactly the kind of input I am looking for. I am aware of the differance in Denon power vs. quality amplification and my listening preferances are different than those of my friend with the Kappa 8's/Denon amp.
I am looking for a much warmer, detailed, authoritive yet effortless sound out of my K-9's. A sound that captivates you and draws you in and simply makes you want to hear more, without much fatigue.
I have spent a small amount of time with these Kappa 9 speakers hooked up to my Levinson amp (with carefully controlled volume levels) and I gotta say that the way that they reproduce vocals and string instruments and any type of brass is increddible! I want to hear more!
On the flip side, I do expect them to "belt it out" in a highly controlled manner from time to time when I do get an amp/amps behind them.
I have already put together a fairly nice little system to listen to while I am building this one. That is a luxury that some don't have and I can take my time picking out each component. Thanx again for your input.