Economy amps from Channel, Nixon, etc?

I worry about very small companies. There are threads here about problems with companies closing at a moments notice with no future support. I would get an Adcom GFA 545 mkII if I were you. Good luck!

I have the Channel Islands VMB-1 mono-blocks and they are really good sounding amps. I have owned amps that cost twice as much but didn't sound nearly as good to my ears.

I was tempted last week by a pair of Scott Nixon mono-blocks that showed up here on AudiogoN. I would love to try them as I've fallen squarely into the "less is more" camp when it comes to audio.

Enjoy,

TIC

Samson servo 120 amp ($189.00 from sweetwater) amd Onix amps from av123 are two others that comes to mind.
I have tried the Harman Kardon HK 3470 receiver which was really good for the $180. Lacked bass power, depth, and the highs had a little artificial sheen.
Aball good point about buying from a stable company. But I've heard the Adcom on B&W Nautilus then the dealer switched to Classe. I was forever ruined as to the grainy bright sound of Adcom amps.

Cdc,

The CIaudio VMB-1's are a lot more expensive than the Samson at $999 direct from Dusty. The SN amps are a bit less expensive, but a far cry more than $189.

I'm not a betting man, but I would guess that the Samson sounds more like the Adcom than the Channel Islands.

Lastly, the CIaudio and SN amps have a lot less power than the Samson. If you can get by with lower power, like 30-50 watts of solid state, there are a lot of inexpensive choices. In addition to CI, SN and Clari-T, you could likely get by with a single Monarchy Audio SM-70 or SM-70Pro for about $300-400 used or a Quad 99 for $400 used.

The Quad 99 might be a good choice as it has more power and it has gotten some great reivews.

Enjoy,

TIC