2. amps-preamps
  3. 1347947075

Best 2 ch. Amp, for music, under $1k used

My current system consists of:
Classe ssp 25 pre-amp
Musical fidelity v-dac2 with Pangea p-100
Adcom gfa 545
Denon DVD 2900 used to play cd's
Paradigm studio 10 (planned future upgrade to studio 20's)

My question is: what amp would you recommend for my setup? I'm looking for better sound (fuller bass, better imaging, more power for higher volumes and more headroom etc). I'd like to keep it around $1,000, new or used.
By the way, there is a lexicon nt-312 for sale locally for $850. This amp is supposed to be the same as a Bryston 5b-st. Any input is greatly appreciated!
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donvito101
278 posts
 
Ditto on the Conrad Johnson amps.
steveaudio
331 posts
 
Interesting. The McCormack 0.5, & the Conrad Johnson MF-2250 were the 2 amps I was going to suggest. I'd also say--I've had a "non-A" MF-2250 for years, & I think it sounds beautiful. And I had a stock, (no-"revs") DNA 0.5 in the same system for a few days; it sounded very, very nice.

If you could pick up a stock DNA 0.5 for $500-ish, I'd grab it.
mrnemo
8 posts
 
Audio Research D-130. One is on Ebay for $750. Real nice amp.
soix
9,456 posts
 
I'm gonna slightly disagree with Steveaudio here. While the stock DNA 0.5 is undoubtably a good amp, the 0.5 Rev. A is in another league. And if you can get one for an extra 500 bucks or so and still be in your price range--well--how many times can you jump several levels of performance for 500 clams in this hobby? Long story short, buying an already upgraded DNA 0.5 is a huge bargain considering what the upgrades cost and the significant performance advantages they provide. Just my $0.02 if you're considering a DNA 0.5.
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hk_fan
460 posts
 
Another vote for McCormack amplifiers.
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