Need recommendation for amplifier


One of my NuForce monoblock amplifiers seems to be irreparable.  I need to get a new amplifier.
 I’m looking in the one to two thousand dollar range, new or used.
Any recommendations for a decent amplifier in that price category?
128x128rvpiano
rvpiano,

     I know you just ordered a pair of Red Dragon m-500 monos but I've been doing some online research on Nuforce and found out some information you may not know that I think is important that I let you know about:
     In 2014, NuForce’s cofounder, Jason Lim, with backing from the OEM factory, bought the assets of NuForce’s high-end division, obtained the rights to NuForce technologies, and formed NuPrime Audio, Inc. (Shortly thereafter the NuForce company was sold to Optoma.)    So, technically, Nuforce didn't go out of business but were actually bought by a company called Optoma, an international manufacturer of video projectors.  
     As far as I understand it thus far, Jason Lim was more interested in building and selling affordable hi-end amps, dacs and integrated amps with built in dacs and formed Nuprime for this purpose.  He used the hi-end assets of Nuforce technologies he purchased from the OEM to form the basis of his new company, Nuprime. 
      He then sold Nuforce, consisting mostly of the remaining non-hi-end assets, to Optoma.  Optoma is now named Optoma-Nuforce and they're selling similar but more modest and lower priced class D products than Nuprime. 
      I bored you with all the above so you better understand the 2 main things I think you should know:

1.  I think Nuprime might be more helpful in repairing your Nuforce mono-block than the former Nuforce technician you've been dealing with. 
     I suggest you contact Nuprime and see if they'll be able to repair your amp since Nuprime now owns the hi-end assets of Nuforce  and may still support your amp (I think yours may be considered a former hi-end Nuforce amp),  Here's a link to Nuprime's website

   www.nuprimeaudio.com.  

2.  After researching Nuprime and some of their products' reviews, I think you may want to seriously consider their mono-blocks and compare them to the Red Dragon M-500 monos.  You could read some reviews on their mono-blocks as a start and, if interested,  see if they offer in-home trial periods, too.

     I'm just starting to learn about Nuprime's very interesting mono-blocks and may also inquire about an in-home trial.  What has me so interested is that they seem to be combining a class A input stage with class D power modules like some other very expensive and very well reviewed mono-block companies do, for example Devialet.   Due to the class D power module's extreme neutrality, the tiny class A signal is amplified faithfully to speaker driving levels and the resultant sound is remarkably similar to the sound produced by traditional class A amps which is overwhelmingly considered by most experts and audiophiles to be the pinnacle of solid state amp audio performance.  
    Whether Nuprime's mono-blocks actually succeeded and have the sound qualities of a good class A amp is the big question that can only be answered by professional reviewers or, better yet, our own determination via an in-home audition in our own systems.  My opinion is that I'm very interested in these Nuprime monos even if the sound quality is just in the neighborhood of good class A amps since they are so much smaller, lighter, more electrically efficient, cooler running and so much more affordable than a traditional class A amp.
     What do you think?
        Tim
  
Schubert and noble100,

Just before I got your posts, I got a return phone call from Klaus at Odyssey Audio.   I ordered an amp from him and canceled the Red Dragon.
He said he matched up the amp to my current system.  We’ll see when I get it.

schubert:  I’m sorry to hear you rejected Odyssey in favor of Belles, but since I already made the commitment, I think I’ll try  the amp out.  I have a 30 day trial period.

noble100: Very interesting about NuPrime. Again, I’m going to wait and see how much I like the Odyssey.  If I do, there’s no point in searching further.

Thank both of you for your help

Richard
The Music Room. One of(the biggest?) dealers selling used gear on Audiogon .I suspect they are related to Underwood Wally another respected new
dealer on here, IMO a good thing .

FWIW , The Odyssey wasn’t even close .
Of course we all hear with our own ears , I'm not saying it was bad .
rvpiano,

     Are you getting a stereo amp or the Stratos mono-blocks? 
     Regardless, I know the Odysseys are very good class A/B amps but I really think you're making a mistake you will regret later. 
     Do you have the means to buy the Odyssey and Red Dragon, compare them both in your system, keep the winner and send back the loser?
     I'm almost certain that, if you do, you'll discover the Red Dragon will outperform the Odyssey in every category  most of us care about, and I do mean every category:  bass performance (higher damping factor), distortion level, power, dynamic range, noise floor along with mid-range and treble neutrality and detail.  
     There are also numerous advantages the Red Dragon amps have that are not related to sound quality:  smaller size, lighter, much more electrically efficient (so much so they can be left on 24/7 if desired to keep them constantly at peak operating temperature which eliminates amp warm-up waits), much cooler running and less expensive.
    Hopefully, you'll be able to compare the Red Dragon and Odyssey amps directly in your own system and determine for yourself which amps perform best.   
    My main point of writing this response, however, was just in case you do not have the opportunity to directly compare the Red Dragon and Odyssey amps.  I thought it might be useful for you to have an informed opinion, based on my decades of using good quality class A/B amps in my systems before discovering the significant performance gains provided by using good quality class D amps instead. 
     I first realized the significant performance gains provided by good class D amps when I replaced my Aragon 4004 MKII class A/B amp with a Class D Audio stereo SDS-440-CS amp  in my combo ht and 2-ch music system.  I quickly noticed the class D sound quality advantages mentioned above and subsequently replaced the 2 remaining good quality class A/B amps in my system with class D amps (an Emerald Physics stereo amp and D-Sonic M-600 mono-blocks)and attained the same significant increases in sound quality performance I described earlier.   
     Of course, it's completely your choice on which amp to use in your system.  I'm just giving you my opinion to try and help you make an informed decision.

Best wishes,
  Tim