The Gemstone Blue Diamond is a nice unit that I had and returned for a variety of reasons. The journey ended with a Theta Dreadnaught (200 watt modules), and I haven't had an itch to switch to any other multichannel amp I've heard. A second-hand Theta is price competitive with the Gemstone. Ayre and Innersound (or similar Coda) amplifiers also merit strong consideration, although several units may be required depending on your system configuration. Go with a phantom center and a pair of Ayre V-5x/V-3 or Innersound ESL-300 stereo amps and stand back. Good luck!
gemstone owners, any problems thus far?
I am also wondering How much power there is with all 7 channels driving 4 ohm speakers. I have compared this amp to monarchy audio monoblocks and 4 people picked the gemstone. Same results when comparing to the original Cinepro 3K6. They were double blind test. Any suggestions on amps to try to dethrone this amp? I would not ask but My amp shuts down at reference levels so Steve and I are trying to figure it out. Just in case we can't any contenders? Please no super expensive stuff, the gemstone cost $2799 and beat out $8400 worth of 7 monoblocks.