[JonnyFive]

I have heard Emotiva is very good bang for the buck (or watts for the buck), and they are not class D.  I do not own one but I am considering one for a second system.

I think they are clearing out the old XPA-1L monoblocks which put out a good amount of Class A watts.  I don't think you could go wrong with a pair of these, which are $1k/pair.  (I thought I saw them on sale $399 each, but maybe I made that up).

http://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-1l

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I think they are clearing out the old XPA-1L monoblocks which put out a good amount of Class A watts.  I don't think you could go wrong with a pair of these, which are $1k/pair.  (I thought I saw them on sale $399 each, but maybe I made that up).

http://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-1l

That is a good deal but I doubt if they are truly class A up to 35watts.  There should be massive heat sinks due to the heat produced.  My Pass X250 weighs in at 110 pounds and is Class A to 25 watts per channel, then 500wpc at 4 ohms.  It has Massive heat sinks and heats up my 17x17 room.  The heat sinks easily get to about 125-130 degrees driving  my Magepan 1.6's.  Those Emotiva mono's are 35 pounds each

[paul79]

Hey Dave,

You could go with a vintage amp. Plenty of nice ones out there. Many will assume they all suck, but that is not true at all. Only problem with them is they might need restored.

Integrated? Yamaha CA-1010 or CA-2010
Stereo amp? Yamaha M-4 or M-2

These are the definition of neutral. Very good amps.

[paul79]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/L-K-VINTAGE-YAMAHA-M2-POWER-AMP-240-watts-pre-channel-VERY-NICE-/131306561063?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item1e927b1e27

[srb]

I think they are clearing out the old XPA-1L monoblocks which put out a good amount of Class A watts.  I don't think you could go wrong with a pair of these, which are $1k/pair.  (I thought I saw them on sale $399 each, but maybe I made that up).

At $1K/pair they do look like a lot of hardware for the money, including 90K uF capacitance per channel.  Odd that the speaker binding posts are ~ 10" apart even though the amplifier boards themselves are not that far apart (?).  Some speaker cables will require a bit of minor surgery.

Steve

[thirdeye]

Hmm... Honestly there is an excellent amp that I know beat out older Mcintosh and Mcormack gear when I heard it, and its way better than current parasound and adcom stuff. Emotiva forget it, its an okay amp, but pretty cheap. There is one for sale by a guy here for way below your budget as well. Balanced design as well which can be very hard to find for a great price. I also know they can drive just about any load you throw at them, 250 watts at 4 ohm check it out :

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=128986.0

[RDavidson]

I looked at the Eagle 2a on ebay and I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for given the reviews (forward, sounds like SS) and it would also need to be re-capped... but I could buy it and order the parts kit for around $850, which was about the retail price of that amp way back in the mid-80's.

There is a Parasound A23 around, going to look into that one for sure...

I also think the Proceed BPA-2 would work well and there are a few for sale.

I think the most I'd want to pay for that Odyssey is $800ish, pretty far from the $1200 asking price.

The Emotiva BPA-2 does look like a great deal for a 300 wpc amp that can be bridged to 1kW. Will have to read some reviews...

You might read around on the Proceeds. From things I've read, they haven't aged well despite their pedigree, and often require recapping......which seems strange to me because I've seen many much older amps not need a recap for 20+ years.

[DaveC113]

Check out some of the Pass Labs or First Watt stuff.  Might find a good diy one for sale.  Your very efficient speakers are calling out for some Nelson Pass magic!

Agreed! Now let's talk about a loan...     

[BobC]

Check out Odyssey Audio Stratos or Khartago. 

[DaveC113]

You might read around on the Proceeds. From things I've read, they haven't aged well despite their pedigree, and often require recapping......which seems strange to me because I've seen many much older amps not need a recap for 20+ years.

I have read that and the HPA-2 is VERY expensive to fix as well... not sure I want to deal with an old amp with old caps that don't tend to age well although the Levinson pedigree is tempting.

I am talking to someone about trading a Stratos plus for some cables, if that doesn't work Klaus himself has a used amp so Odyssey is looking very tempting right now, I have heard the Odyssey system quite a few times now and it always sounds great, and the reviews are all great too. And I know someone I can call if I have any issues with it.     IMO the Odyssey on agon is overpriced, they top out at $1800 brand new...

[tvyankee]

Hey.

These  aren't bad amps.  I think they sound pretty good. They are built well too. Also if you speakers can be bi amped then it's a good deal for a grand.

B&k 200.5

[RDavidson]

I don't have experience with Odyssey, but there's no denying the unanimously positive reviews over the years, and Klaus seems to be a truly stand-up dude and fellow ACer. I think it'd be hard to go wrong with Odyssey as a benchmark for your project.

[Alfi]

Dave,
A used Pass Labs Aleph 3 or Aleph 30 may be in your price range.
The Aleph 3 is quite neutral.
30Wpc on your 95db speakers should be loud enough  .

Cheers,
Alfi

[TF1216]

Any desire to build your own solid state amplifier?  You can pick up a couple of PCBs from diyaudio (VSSA recommended), populate it, attach a SMPS from connexelectronic.com, then build a chassis.

I run something similar and it works extremely well.

[asliarun]

Yamaha A-S2000, perhaps?
It is slightly over your budget but not by much, and I think you can get refurbished/used models in the $1k price range.

To be honest, I haven't heard it myself, but a friend of mine has it, and I have been following its reviews. It seems to be a very good integrated amp - and looks like a steal at this price range. Is also supposed to be fairly transparent and neutral sounding.

[Freo-1]

Yamaha A-S2000, perhaps?
It is slightly over your budget but not by much, and I think you can get refurbished/used models in the $1k price range.

To be honest, I haven't heard it myself, but a friend of mine has it, and I have been following its reviews. It seems to be a very good integrated amp - and looks like a steal at this price range. Is also supposed to be fairly transparent and neutral sounding.

Would second this recommendation.  Excellent unit at a reasonable price.

[motosapien]

Any desire to build your own solid state amplifier?  You can pick up a couple of PCBs from diyaudio (VSSA recommended), populate it, attach a SMPS from connexelectronic.com, then build a chassis.

I run something similar and it works extremely well.

Yes - this is what I was trying to suggest.  There was recently a group buy for all the parts to stuff the Aleph J boards in the diy audio store.  They sell a chassis that has the large heatsinks as well.  You could diy one for under a thousand.  They have online build guides there as well.  Or keep your eyes peeled for a used diy in the swap meet area.

Not sure why you are against a class d amp either.  I have a Class D Audio cda 258 and it is quite neutral,  at least with my 84 spl speakers.  Some pretty knowledgeable fellows are using the Crown pro amps for hifi home use.  At any rate, may your search end in sonic bliss.

[opnly bafld]

deleted

[DaveC113]

Any desire to build your own solid state amplifier?  You can pick up a couple of PCBs from diyaudio (VSSA recommended), populate it, attach a SMPS from connexelectronic.com, then build a chassis.

I run something similar and it works extremely well.

I don't have the time to DIY an amp... I need to concentrate on this speaker, after that I have a set amp lined up.

Class D amps can be great but I have found they can be tweaky and respond very strongly to cables, footers, etc. I need an amp that is neutral with predictable performance... One that is less reactive than D amps.

It looks like I've reached a deal to trade for an Odyssey Stratos plus or extreme, not sure exactly which upgrade package it has, but either way it should be a great amp for testing the speaker I'm working on along with my set amp.

Thanks for everyone's input, it's greatly appreciated!   

[firedog]

I'm going to second the Odyssey recommendation, you can get this if your deal falls through.
http://odysseyaudio.com/products-khartago-stereo.html

They do come up used, so if you can wait you can get one for less. If you speak to Klaus, I'm sure he can help you find a used one.

His amps have lots of current and have no problem playing even with 2 Ohm speakers. I'd be very suprised if the Khartago wasn't more than enough power for you.

I have one of his Kismet (stereo) amps and am very happy with it.