Good under 200watt stereo amp for under $800


I figured I would start a new thread now that I have been given the go ahead by the wife to spend up to $800 on my stereo amp.

I've been given some good ideas in the "Under $600" thread and would like to see what you think of these choices:
McCormack DNA-1
Aragon 4004
B&K 4420
B&K 2220
CJ MF200
Odyssey Stratos

Any others to consider?

Joe
joew
While i have no idea of the type of load that you are driving, personally, i would remove the two B&K's from your list. The newer B&K's are not in the same league as the other amps that you have listed.

Depending on the type of load that you are running and your personal preference in terms of sonic characteristics, i like and would recommend either a Forte' 3 ( Nelson Pass design with 200 @ 8 / 350 @ 4 ), a Forte' 6 ( later PS Audio design with 200 @ 8 / 350 @ 4 ) or a Robertson 6010 ( 200 @ 8 / 400 @ 4 ). The Forte' 3 is more delicate and airy sounding than the 6, which tends to be a little rounder and full-bodied sounding. Both amps are somewhat load sensitive, work better into low impedances and should be left on 24/7. Either can be had for between $350 - $600, depending on condition and specific model ( 6, 6A, etc... ).

The Robertson is a good combo of the two with better bass definition and impact while retaining a good amount of the air / speed of the 3. They are typically more money than either of the Forte's though and much harder to find. Also much more money to ship as they weigh something like 60 - 70 lbs rather than the 30 - 35 lbs ( give or take ) of the Forte's. It is NOT a handsome amp and looks rather industrial though. The beauty lies on the inside and what comes out of the speakers when using this amp.

The older Electron Kinetics aka "Eagle" amps are also nice sounding pieces for the cash and are pretty well built.

All of these amps are "fast" aka "wide bandwidth" designs and can be sent into oscillation when running "wide bandwidth" aka "capacitive" speaker cables like Goertz, AudioTekne, Polk, etc... As such, if you are going to use a speaker cable like this ( and i recommend it ), PLEASE use some form of impedance compensation ( Zobel Network ) at the speaker. Sean
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PS... All of these amps are biased quite high. As such, they will run hot at idle. If you get one that doesn't run hot, it is out of bias and will sound like crap.
Sean,so you believe in high\forward bias'd amps also.Well that's good.I have an original B&K ST-202 that is forward bias'd and it's nothing like the stock version of the same unit.
I think this is the reason alot of people like the Odyssey amps so much at present.I have no experience with them,but all the amps I have recently listened to have a sterile ,glossed over vocal signature attached to them which completely turns me off to them.
I thought the Forte's that were A\AB were not as refined as the ClassA amp version.
The Monarchy's are suppose to be close to the Pass Labs amps of what I have been tols and thought thos might be a great amp.
Still do not know what the speaker's JoeW is using?

ABEX
Paradigm Ref Studio 60v2. Nothing super great or expensive since I can't afford such things ;)
Geez,I bought my speakers for $350,but thenm again I have heard speakers going for $3500 that don't come close.Cost is relative believe me.
Odyssey Stratos are forward Bias'd and I could not imagine it not being musical.You could probably talk him down to $800 to include shipping.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstran&1054566192&class&3&4&