Help me decide, please

Nice one Germanboxers...not that many people remember the Fortes...great stuff and enjoy your fantastic system!

Same to Mitch2...i have never had the opportunity to hear them...but have heard nothing but superlatives...i did hear about the hum issue and am glad to hear it was solved some years back. Enjoy!

FWIW, I have owned my M300's for several years now. Early on, I had a noisy transformer. Wilson now has a power supply upgrade which includes new transformers and a bunch of other improvements. After completing the upgrade, Wilson delivered the amps directly to my house, stayed and listened a bit and provided some set-up suggestions. That was almost two years ago and the amps have operated flawlessly since.

They are said to be quite overbuilt, even considering they put out 300wpc into Class A bias. The power storage capacity and other specs are amazing. The amps also double that power into 4 ohms. They are one of the best thought out products I have owned and include things like a low bias switch to keep heat down when not listening critically (or to use as a sort of warm up mode), power on lights that indicate when the amps are turned on and also which bias mode the amps are in, another power light in the back to help prevent operator error by moving cables when the amps are turned on, fuse access from the back, bumpers so they are not moved too close to a wall which can damage the attached cables, first rate binding posts, and excellent shipping boxes with detailed packing instructions since the amps are about 90 pounds each. All I can say is I am very happy with both the sound and operation of mine, and the amount of power on tap allows virtually any speaker possibility you would consider.

Having said all that in favor of the Claytons, I suggest you do yourself a favor and go listen to as many different amps as you can that are both in your price range and which supply the necessary power for your speakers.

With 90db efficiency, I would check out Tube Research Labs (TRL) Samsons Monos. There are several very accurate Agon reviews so check them out.

Contact Paul @ TRL if interested. He can build with all the options you need.

I've lived with a lot of amps over the years, solid state and tube. If I hadn't made the move to high sensitivity speakers I would have never given up my Clayton M200's. They were the best solid state amp I'd heard...power, control, nuance and always musical.

BTW, Lloydelee21, I agree on the Forte. I owned the Model 1a and they were a sweet 50w/ch of pure class A. For a 22 year old at the time, I felt soooo spoiled!!

Claytons would be my first choice then the BAT with all the upgrades

SS amplification is a very matured industry..I see no reason the need to empty ones pocket when there are amps fofar less money and sound excellent..we need to all question the pricing and ask why so expensive? When most if not all mature industries usually come down in price,,the pc industry comes to my mind. I hope you find the amp of your dreams. But really, do we need to spend so much for quality sound?

Hi Leog2010. I have heard excellent things about Clayton Audio...and when i look back over 20 years, my favorite SS amps are: Forte 4, Krell FPB600, Boulder 2060, Gryphon Antileon and Gryphon Colosseum. All of them are Class A amps. This is nothing more than a personal observation about what i've liked over the years. Claytons fit this bill, but i've not heard them.

If you ever get a chance to hear any of the above, i think you'll find a purity of sound combined with an endless reserve of power (ok...the Forte 4 will not be endless, but for 50 watts...its incredibly powerful sounding).

If you are comfortable on the reliability of Clayton (i have never investigated this...just saying, since they're not Krell or Boulder or Gryphon who are super-commercially well known.)...then i would go for it.

Well I've owned a BAT VK-600SE and a pair of Clayton Audio M100 monoblock amps. If I were choosing, I'd go with the M-300's. Wilson Shen has that *magic* touch, similar to Stan Klyne. A way to make solid state sound musical, like tubes. The only major designer I have heard hit this sweet spot was Jeff Rowland back in the mid to late 90's with his 2/6/8/9 series of amp. As always, YMMV.

This is the 4th thread you've started regarding buying a new amp in less than 3 weeks. No one is going to tell you what to buy, that is a decision that you will have to make yourself. It's your money, you have to make the final decision.

I'd favor BAT on your list plus Bryston 7b-sst, Classe CAM300.

I would probably choose the Claytons ... my feeling is they are the most refined of the amps you have listed. Not familiar with the Tylers though and synergy with speakers is the key so it is possible one of the other amps may work even better with those particular speakers

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