Best Amp for Aerial 7B's, under 2500.00


I have a pair of Aerial 7Bs in a large room, over 600 cubic feet of space. I was using a Proceed Amp 2 but it just did not have enough power to drive the Aerial's adequately. I have no problem with a used amp of excellent quality/condition. My budget is $2500.00. Thanks to all in advance...
goose89
I auditioned many, many amps with my 10Ts. I highly recommend Classe. I found this amp to be far superior to the others that I auditioned for music. Frankly, I was quite surprised by the differences I heard. A CA300 is likely to be a bit much. A CA-200 would be fine for the 7Bs -- do not go below the CA-200. My second favorite was Audio Research, and I actually heard a VT100 with a pair of 10Ts and the result was fabulous! Note that Michael himself highly recommends Classe -- and tends to use the Omega amps at shows. I auditioned Krell, Audio Research, Sunfire, ATI, Classe, Bryston, etc...I thought Bryston, and Krell were a bit harsh in the highs on music, but offered the best bass of the bunch...The ATI and Sunfire were not very musical at all...not even in the running.
If you can find a pair of Jeff Rowland Model ones, you wont be dissapointed. They are stereo, but can be bridged mono for 240 watts each. Very crisp, with a wide open sound stage. They generally run around 1000 to 1250 each on the used market. Good Luck.
I need to coorect the space in my listening area, it should be 6000+ cubic feet, not 600. Thanks.
I've heard both the Aragons and the Classe. The Classe is o.k., but not nearly as crisp and satisfying as the Aragons. You might also try some of the little monarchy monoblocks if you think you could do without some of the power.
Michael Kelly uses Classe at the shows, a classe ca300 used can be had for your price and will be a match for your aerials. You can find them at this site. Have Fun
I'm running 7B's as my front channels in my home theater and for two channel listening. I can't say what the absolute best is for under $2500 because there's many more that I haven't tried than I have tried with the 7B's. But of the four or so different amps I auditioned in my particular system, and of the dozens I've auditioned in other systems, for the money, build quality, and sound quality, I ultimately chose a pair of Aragon Palladium IIs. I also ran an Aragon 8008 BB on the front channels for a while, and it was a close second (the 8008 is running the surrounds now). By the way, the Palladiums and the 8008 blew the Sunfire two and five channel amps away, and, in my opinion, the Palladiums were better all around, especially in the bass, than several different Bryston amps I heard (including the 7B ST). I thought the sound rivaled the more expensive Krell FPB 200 and 300, and in several ways was better. You can certainly find mint condition 8008 BB's for much less than $2500, and even good examples of a pair of Palladiums for $3000 or less used. Jeff