Bryston VS Musical Fidelity

First of all, I never think in terms of an 'amp' as a separate entity. My experience tells me that matching of goods, that is amps and pre amps are more important than just the individual piece. For example, while an amp may sound great, it only sounds great potentially, and that if it's matched with the correct pre amp, speakers, and so on. I am a fan of matching tube pre amps with solid state amps, though, with the 'neutralization' (just call me Ogden Nash) of some tube pre amps this has changed radically over the past few years.
Now, with that said, what SS amp do I recommend? As much as I hate to kill retail sales people, a used Ayre amp, with the bias set to 1400. instead of their ususal 900 works great for me. It sounds like tubes, though not as much as people say. Black background, detailed, articulate sound stage. On Audiogon right now there's a V3 for sale for 1325. I believe. And if you call the factory they will do some things to the amp, making it much better than anything near the price, IMHO.
Again, speakers, amps cables, and so on are always a synergism. It is impossible to simply tell someone (for me) what an amp sounds like. The variables are simply too great.
Also, when someone 'tells me' they 'need' 300 WPC, I ask them more questions. How big is the room, what is your speaker, your listening tastes, music preference, and what do you think is loud?
IMHO people give out too much even though it's free, cheap information.

Then there are some of the newer, but used McIntosh's which use the Toshiba transistors, which are detailed and sweet at the same time.
Not thought of as an audiophile product for a long time, McIntosh has really come light years recently.
The choices are endless

Ayre V3. Thanks, Lrsky.

There's a new idea worth considering Greg_lett. In my time knowing Lrsky, he usually comes up with an idea ot two that could significantly change your system for the better.

Tvad,

Indeed the choices are endless. Wht you say about equipment
matching is also true. The reason I through a Rotel amp
into the mix is because I have:
Rotel RCD-1072 (CD Player)
Rotel RC-1090 (pre-amp).
I owned the RB-1080 also, but I sold that in order to upgrade
to the 1090. I did that because I heard a significant difference (for the better) in my system using the two old Rotels I'm currently using. As I stated earlier things came up so that got delayed, and I figure I would look at other amps.
The choices as you said are endless. I know if I get an
amp other than Rotel I would want to change out my other gear to match that brand. I know you don't necessarily have to do that, but I guess the products from the same maker should go well together, one would hope.

Gregg, I just purchased a pair of CI Audio D100 mono amps to audition. Right out of the box, I'd say they are comparable to my old Bryston 4B SST. Clear and punchy. Currently playing @ 99dB through my VR4 SE loudspeakers measured at my listening position 8 feet from the speakers.

Given the price of $1599, these are a no-brainer over a 4B SST, and I venture to guess the Rotel as well. Have you ever measured the decibel level from your listening position? It might give you some insight into how much power you actually use. Radio Shack Db meters run about $50, or less.

Tvad,

I haven't measured the db level. I will do some reading
on the CI Audio.