Best Amp for $300 to Power Paradigm Monitor 9s

the Sumo Polaris is an very good amp in all areas. if you can get one you would be very happy. The muse is also good.

I think I could stick a quieter fan in my QSC amp, but I only use it for live stuff (generally driving a pair of monitors) and in that application it's fine...but maybe mine has a louder fan than necessary, or a badly designed fan, or a faulty fan...but it's too loud for recording anything when it's on. I have extensive experience with PA amps as I do pro sound work, and I think QSC GX amps generally sound somewhat better than the inexpensive Crown amps...the higher end Crowns sound fabulous, but for hifi I think there are better sounding amps out there, as long as they're not too old with leaky bits...as bargains go B&Ks always sounded great, I loved my Forte' Model 55 (one of the last of those) and various Adcoms...used a 535 as a studio monitor amp for years, and the second model of those with normal binding posts is a smooth sounding amp. I owned an Acurus A250 that needed work from time to time (warranty so no cost for me) but kicked ass.

If you can stretch it, the Muse 100 is probably the best thing mentioned in this post. Although I've never heard one, the Sumo Polaris also supposed to be a very nice sounding amp. I think it's a mosfet design. Mosfet is where you will get the warm sound that you are looking for. In that regard, a B&K ST140 (older versions I like better) or a Hafler DH220 would also be very good sounding and definitely worth considering, better sounding than the Adcoms or Carvers, IMO.

If the Paradigms are bright, I don't think you would like a class D or other chip amp with it....just my $.02 and 30+ years in this hobby...let us know what you end up with

"I liked Muse Model 3 preamp, but never tried amp."

The bass is very good. Its a fairly clean sounding amp but the highs can be a little grainy. But not really harsh or bright. Its kind of like the bit of roughness you can sometimes get with a stranded copper cable. If you can get the Muse for $300, I don't see where you can go wrong. Another one to look for is the old PS Audio SS amps. Not the class d amps, the ones before. They're not much to look at, but they do sound pretty good for the money. Probably in the same league as the Muse.

Yes, PS Audio too if you can find one.