Amps which are Great, but either Unknown or Underpriced

"The current Audio Mirror 6C33C SET monoblocks are a bargain at their price compared to BAT and Lamm models. I am very happy with them."

+1.
I have a pair (45 Watt SETs) and they are terrific!

I like the Anthem integrated 225.

The current Audio Mirror 6C33C SET monoblocks are a bargain at their price compared to BAT and Lamm models. I am very happy with them.

Rogers High Fidelity EHF-100

Jeff Rowland 625 S2...it’s relatively new, but I never hear Jeff Rowland being talked about like some of the other brands. It’s simply the best amp that I’ve ever had. It has "soul."

All very good suggestions but must include Decware.com! Very well built,
very fairly priced!

At their used prices, Convergent Audio Technology (CAT) amps are the greatest stone cold bargains in audio - much better even than their preamps.  You can pay ~$4-7k for amps that will compete with anything made today, regardless of price.

VAC 450 IQs - best I have ever heard.  Incredible mids and highs; bass that needs to be heard to be believed.  All VAC products punch above their weight class - these are no exception.

Pass Labs X150.5

My Odyssey Audio HT3 (with cap upgrade) is nearly 10 years old.  I have not once in all these years even considered an amp upgrade.  This amp is a giant killer, with detailed, clean sound, never etched or bright, with stunning soundstage width and height.  If it remains as reliable as it has been (one cap failed while in warranty), it will probably be my last amp.

Also, the Arion Class D amps are outstanding, and reasonably priced.  I have heard several models, and had the RS-500 mono blocks in my system.  Wonderful amps.

Brown Electronic Labs 1001 MKV. Still better today than 99% of all SS amplifers available. 

Neither Hegel or devialet are class D. Hegel integrated are class a/b and devialet is hybrid with first x watts in class a.

+1 on the Job 225.

Exemplar Audio

I have a Parasound A21 and a Line Magnetic 216 Integrated Tube amp in another system. So I agree with those who have listed these two. Just great products.

After 20 years in the hi end, no component I've heard makes me shake my head in disbelief more than when i see a $1,700 sticker on the Job 225.

Emotive Audio (PA, USA)

Second Line Magnetic, great amps, ultra reliable built like a German Tank not a Russian one, with a great sound, at a great price..
Also Opera Consonance, real class sound, excellent reliability, and beyond reproach build quality.

I have several McCormack amps modified by Steve McCormack.  It's a great option if you're looking for SOTA performance for a fraction of the cost.

While he used to offer certain mod packages, I think it's totally variable nowadays.  Whatever your budget, preferences and associated equipment...he can make an amp tailored to you.

Another great advantage is that you never have to pay dealer markup again.  Just buy one of his used stock amps for next to nothing and have him modify it.  Then you could have an amp that would retail for $20k+ depending on what options you choose, but you only paid a fraction of that.

Occasionally, you will see a modified version of his amps up for sale, but most people hang on to them.  Your best bet is to find a used DNA.5 on ebay.  These are the cheapest to find and one of their favorite to mods.  It will also drive most any speaker and, if you need more power, just get 2 DNA.5 for monoblock conversion.

If you want to go tubes...I would say that Rogue Audio is probably under-priced and under-appreciated.  David Berning amps would also be on my list for certain applications/systems.

For years I used an Acurus DIA100 with my magnepan 1.4s. This Christmas I moved up to 1.7s and the DIA100 wasn't getting it done. Hit the want ads and bought a second hand Acurus A150. Sounds great and its got real bang for the buck until I can upgrade. Very happy with Acurus products.

A note about Vincent…I own a Kavent S-33 preamp that is a re-badged Vincent SA-93…not sure why they needed 2 companies selling the same stuff (Kavent is gone), but in any case it's an amazing balanced dual mono preamp with isolated power supplies on one side of the deep aluminum cladded chassis. Also, I have a good friend with one of those massive Vincent hybrid integrateds and it also is an overbuilt thing that sounds fabulous.

Quicksilver mini-mites with 6L6GC tubes and nos 12ax7s kicked my rear end out for a walk! If you don't need to blow your brains out these are hard to beat for anything under $2K!

Okay ... "little known and sounds great:" 

Years ago I bought a Dyna 120 in perfect condition at a garage sale for four dollars. I sent it back to Minnesota to Frank Van Alstine so he could install his circuits. What I got back was a 60 wpc giant killer. It was solid state but if left on for a few hours took on a sweetness all its own. The bass was killer too. Over the years, I've referred many people, especially those on a tight budget to the Van Alstines folks. Good people. Good electronics. Great prices.

Acoustic Imagery Atsah 500, 400 watts, 2K, awesome sound

Vincent Audio. Designed in Germany, manufactured in China. I have pr. of SP-998 mono blocks. These compete with or surpass Power Amps costing many times there RRP of Aus.$6k. The fact I picked them up brand new for half that, make them a contender for one of the great bargains in audio history. 300W. into 8ohms. 50W of that Class A. these have the best grip on bass I have ever experienced and will embaress some of the overpriced big names costing truckloads more in musicality.

Havn't heard any of their  other Power Amps, but would like to try one of their Hybrids one day.

I have the SA -T8 Pre-Amp which is sublime and will beat much more expensive pre's. Also have the SA-T1 which is ok in a more budget set up if you pick one up discounted as I did.

AirTight ATM1. Can be run as an integrated with 2 inputs and you can use them later with a pre or phono pre. You also can add a second one for monos for driving big or unefficient speakers.
They sound gorgeous. Art Dudley's ref amp. I have pair of ATM 3 for over 20 years and only one trouble fo fix one one amp.

I'd vote for Audio Analogue great sound for not a lot of money.

Several of Coda's principals worked with Nelson Pass at Threshold back in the day. As I understand it, after Threshold's demise, Nelson formed Pass Labs, while the other guys formed Coda. 

Coda maintains a much lower profile than Pass--at least in the press--but they've done a lot of OEM work over the years, including for Innersound, Legacy and Sanders (thus some of the similarity). 

Though they've gotten several reviews in the last few years, I second Coda. They make really amazing stuff. No fancy bells and whistles--just clean, solid, no-nonsense engineering with terrific parts that work well together. 

I've owned several Coda amps over the years and currently own an S12.5, which drives my Jena Labs speakers very well. Really clean and super-transparent, with a touch of warmth that ties the whole package together. Lightning-fast but not overpowering bass as well. An acquaintance of mine has a 15.5 that powers a pair of Legacys, and that combo is magical too.

They're certainly not bargain basement in price, but for what they offer sonically, they're a fabulous value, IMO.

+1 Line Magnetic 518ia .... Or 219ia if your bank balance and back can manage it.

+1 for Monarchy Audio. I have a pair of sm70mkII's that sound beautiful. I believe them to be a huge value.

Class D sounds grey to me.  Devialet sucks as well as Hegel...Highly regarded by some.

Class D Audio SDS 470

Krell Vanguard delivers music without compromise and can be had for $3600 at Audiophile Liquidaters!!  Equalls some $20K plus seperates I've owned.

Musical Design amps by John Hillig - all are musical wonders!

Van Alstine...

Unknown can be a result of never having been given a review in the audio mags, or small production, or both.

I am a big fan of the Classe DR3 VHC, but they never had a review, they only made 166 of them (I own 3, one run stereo and two as bridged monos) and they were very expensive at the time ($5K c. 1987.

If you ever get the chance to hear them don't pass it up, and if you see them for sale (a very rare event) consider them. They will drive literally anything (including Apogee Scintillas on 1 ohm setting) and sound almost tube like.)

Downside is that they are very large (too high to fit in regular racks with fixed shelves) and quite heavy (c. 110 lbs each)

Many good amps listed. I'll add Coincident Dynamo 34SE. Top notch and cost effective if you pair with high efficiency speakers.

Crown XTi 2 amps are very interesting...and just downright killer if you have a rather good power conditioning solution and speakers with passive crossovers you’ve been looking to upgrade. These amps have free software you use to access a suite of digital pro tools. You type in any frequencies you want for the crossover points, type of slope (1st-4th order), relative gain and EQ for each amp which has a balanced line out that will pass a processed, or unprocessed (your choice) signal to the next amp. Very trick...all you need to buy extra is the wiring to make it work. Say goodbye to expensive crossover parts and the power-robbing crossovers and hello to one helluva dynamic envelope...provided your speakers are up to it. Sound out of the box is...meh, but with good power conditioning they come alive and are steal...very authentic sounding! No better way to multi-amp anywhere Near this price that I ever saw. These amps are not just for subwoofers...excellent mids and highs too. The only real caveat is that for best sound the speaker connectors (Speakons) should be bypassed.

Will also recommend Line Magnetic - purchased a 518ia (integrated 22wpc SET) - excellent build quality and sounded good with stock tubes, but swapped in some NOS GE 6L6s and 12 AX7s, and NOS Mullard 5AR4, sounds fantastic driving Daedalus Argos V2s

Thoughts about JoLida
A lot of people like them, and they're fun for tuberollers but I cant really say much good about my 302B. Lots of reliability/maintenance problems.

+ another for the Power Modules/Belles, at least the one I have, I haven't heard any of his other models except an ocm 500. Great amp and value in my opinion. I have a Belles Ref 150a V2 and use it with a passive. That is a challenge for any amp to stand and on its own and be excellent in that context.

I was wondering when someone was going to mention Parasound.  The P5/A23 or even P5/A21 combo is supposed to reference grade stuff for around $2,000 or $3,000.  

Jolida is interesting to me also.  How do their amps compare to the MC275?

Parasound. and for more bucks, Ayre

I agree with Jolida. I have the Fusion preamp.

I have a friend who owns the Audio Refinement integrated and it is indeed a fine piece.  

I am interested in Wells Audio.

Ghent Audio. Class D amplifiers that have a loyal following. I won't bore you with how much of a bargain they are cost wise, and their superior sonic performance compared to x, y, and Z. I'll just say that I use them with my Maggies to great success and they replaced such achievers as Edge Electronics, Consonance, and Antique Sound Labs...all well respected offerings. $1500/pr 400wpc sonic splendors!

Mike

1) Agree on the Yamamoto A-08s. However, speaker matching is crucial. I found that it did not have enough drive for my Zu Definitions - perhaps, in part, because of very long speaker cable runs. But a steal at the price. Gorgeous to look at. Impeccably made. 
2) DejaVu 45/2a3 SET. Similar in sound and price to the Yamamoto A-08s, but aesthetically challenged.
3) Audio Refinement Complete Integrated. No longer made, but occasionally appears on A'gon - especially if you are looking for a rich sounding SS integrated at an incredible bargain (less than 4-500USD) - even as a back-up.
3) Ancient Audio - my current amplifier. Unknown, but far from underpriced (unfortunately).

Dehavilland Electric Company