I really didn't realize that my options were so vast. (I make myself sound like an idiot.) I am very interested in the Odyssey amps, but what I had thought was that my next move was from my 180ish watts 1070 (4 ohm speaker load) into something... well let's say "huge". Can some speak from experience as to what those mono blocks will do into 4 ohms? Do they "double down"? Sound quality into 4 ohm speaker? This has been very helpful so far. Thanks to everyone who has contributed.
power in watts is only part of the equation - you should check the current ratings. the electrocompaniet aw220's i mentioned earlier are 70wpc into 8 ohm stereo amps. (120w into 4 ohms, 160w into 2 ohms; stable w/loads <1 ohm.) they're bridgeable to 220w monoblocks, which is how the pair on agon are being used/sold. (of course, you could use them to wertically bi-amp, as well; this is how i ran my older aw75dmb's, before going to tubes. i now use my aw75dmb's as subwoofer amps, driving my vmps larger subs.)
but, more importantly, the aw220's max current output is rated at
>60 amps! you won't find any other 70wpc amp w/a current rating that high. (my old adcom gfa555 - 200wpc into 8 ohms, 325w into 4 ohms was rated 20a current output, for example.)
as far as resale walue is concerned - buy used, then you won't have an issue. as far as reliability is concerned, my aw75dmb amps are >12 years old, now, & haven't missed a beat. (i did get a capacitor upgrade to them several years back from heinz preiss, i dunno if he still works on these; he may be retired.) while ec has had difficulty in the past w/north american distributors, there's always someone over there in norway to directly help you out w/any problems/issues you may have, if you're not getting satisfaction from the local distributor. my second aw75dmb was purchased used from germany, & the factory emailed me detailed instructions so i could conwert it to 120v operation myself...
if you purchase used, you won't find a better s/s amp walue/sound out there, imo... if the aw220's aren't enough current/power for you, wait for a pair of aw180's, aw120's, aw400's, etc. yes, they will cost a bit more...
of course, if you
really want the best sonics, you would be looking at tube amps...
doug s.
