Geez. Amps are a very personal statement - to me, they are the master moderators between source and speaker, so their effect is profound, and finding a happy long term partnerships with an amplifier or a pair of speakers is a rare blessing - like in other areas in life.
i have had an Accuphase E-306v IA i worship - it is extremely detailed ("there - a mouse just farted in the left rear corner of the studio"), which can be a problem because it can distract the listener into getting hung up on irrelevant individual details, ignoring the overall performance. The Accuphase always saves this by also managing to instill enough warmth and musicality.
i recently moved and needed to downsize, so the E-306v is in storage until I figure out what to do. For now, its duties were taken over by a Benchmark DAC2-HGC acting as preamp (and DAC obviosuly), and a rare Creek Destiny power amp I scored on Ebay for very little, new in a box. This partnership sends sublime sound into the KEF LS50. This was all supposed to be a temporary solution... I think sometime this year I'll match up the E-306v against the Creek Destiny for a final mano a mano.
But it basically means these are my favorite combos.
