Which Solid State Amplifier is Making you Happy?


I'm trying to find a new amplifier to replace a Musical Fidelity A3CR. There are lots of candidates: Rowland 501s, Pass Labs 350.5, Levinson 431/432, H2O, etc. What are people using and what has been a good sonic investment? I'm currently driving B&W N803s, so it's a pretty normal load. My MF amp does not offer enough punch or bass control. It flattens out at higher volumes. I'll spend what it takes, new or used. Less than $8K would be nice. All comments welcome.
Peter
pscialli
SimAudio W10's are the best I've heard so far....pick em up for under $6k used. Good partner with Maggies or anything needing some oomph. Not your typical sterile sounding SS that hides behind bass wallop and has little else. Good amps.

Rooze
I am using the Innersound ESL-300. I know it doesn't cost enough ($1500 used) but I stand behind it. Drove the pee-diddly out of Maggie 3.6s and sounded better the hotter it got. Never petered out. 600WPC @ 4 ohms. Now drives my Eros MkIII very well, naturally. Spend more, go ahead, 20K for the dartzHeel 100WPC. Excuse me?
Son of Ampzilla. 80w/ch. 8ohms. All transistor. Almost 30 years old. Used around $250. My speakers are around 89db efficient. I love this amp. How can one old box produce sound powerful AND revealing? Very tight bass control. I listen to mostly classical and jazz. I know they have a rep for trouble, but mine has been no trouble at all. For a hoot; get one, get it bench tested, hook it up and see what you think. You may be surprised.
I just got a sweet deal on a BAT VK-200 for only $1100 delivered. So, yes, I am very happy!
Danielk,
That's a fair question. No. The room is on a dedicated circuit, but the audio system shares through a modest Monster line conditioner, the $400 one. I've made some overall improvements to the system by upgrading power cords, adding the line conditioner, upgrading cables, etc, but the deficiency I'm experiencing sounds to me a while lot like the amp is running out of steam. It's a 1999 vintage Musical Fidelity Amp which is rated at 120 watts. Within a year, I may even build up enough diplomacy points with my wife so that I can do some moderate construction to create a much better "audio" room. That room will certainly have the requisit AC power specs.
My preamp, btw is an Audio Research SP16 which may also be a weakish link in the chain; although, not awful by any stretch.

Peter