Help...Need a New Amp

Definetly check out McCormack. I've had the DNA-1 and just got a new DNA 225 Great value and you can easily talk to Steve, if you need advise!

DNA 225 cannot go wrong with this amp. I have had it for about 4 years. This is the one amp that has always stay put through all changes I have had in my system. It is the only one I paid almost full retail price and guess what? I never had buyer's remorse with it. Fast, dynamic and utterly musical, as well as being fairly neutral, but NEVER cold. If you like your music to sound exciting, there is very little out there for the said price that can equal, and obviously never better it. If you acquire it, remember to get a decent power cord and you will be set, until the next upgrade comes around....while always keeping it. A great match after it, would be an awesome tubed preamp.

Counterpoint? Hum, no. Reliability issues. McCormack amps going to the frier? Never. Oh, great upgrade and modifications available my Steve himself.

The OCM 500 is also a decent amp for the price. David Belles is one of the most unrecognized genius of the business. Cannot complain, if it was for star power, all his designs would cost thousands more.

GL with your hunt.

Thank you all for the great responses! I'm definitely going to look into Mccormack. I have been toying with the idea of a new amp anyway for the last two years. Now with the Adcom gone I have no choice, but it did last me 20 years, so no complaints. Its nice to see all the support from the more experienced Audiogon members, it is a great help. I'll let you know how I made out. Any other suggestions or tips would be appreciated as I am relatively "green" at all this.

After plugging in an old Counterpoint amp a few months back, I'd have to say go find a good used one and enjoy music. It was eye opening to me that a 20 year old design could sound as good as it did. There were a few NP-200s here on Agon going for scratch and you will NOT find a better sounding amp then one of these for the price.

Happy Listening.

There's a nice-looking OCM (Belles) listed just now... wish I had room for it...

McCormack!!!!!!! Best Value for dollar spent and you can upgrade them!

I kind of had the "junior" version of your system to start...Bryston B60 and B&W CDM1nt's...I loved it...gave the Bryston to my Dad and got an Electrocompaniet...some things were better (jazz classical accoustic) some were worse. I do the 2ch HT thing so movies definitely took a dive with the Electro vs the Bryston. When I had the bryston I considered getting a 3bst and Bi-Amping with the B60 powering the highs and the 3bst on the lows...anyhow...what I'm getting at here in my ramblings is that you already have basically the same preamp as the one in my B60 so why not go for the matching Bryston amp to go with it...a 3bst should be adequate powerwise....plus you gotta love the 20 year transferrable warranty.

OTOH...the people that mention McCormack...I have neve heard them myself but they get high high praise from the community as a whole...maybe if you went the all McCormack route as they also have the universal player that you can look into in the future

also...it's not like your system has to match (all one brand)...I just prefer it that way and is the way iam am gonna go next for some reason...but i'm strange

just my 2c

Ellery

You'll certainly not go wrong with a McCormack unit.

It's certainly a buyers market.
Out of five hundred classified listing in solid state amps 64 are marked sold.
13% success rate?

I noted while perusing the solid states amps there was a Aragon 8008 for sale that meets your budget requirements.

Again, as stated earlier, Bryston, Krell and Classe are all quality manufacturers as well.
Bryston 20 year warranty.

There are some integrated units out now that might suit your needs as well.

Amps from the aforementioned mgf.'s to stay away from... can't help you there.

McCormack DNA225, Parasound Halo A21, Antique Sound Labs Monsoon

I had an original Sunfire Stereo amp doubling in my ht and music system for years. I had additional amplification as well but now since they have introduced the multichannel Sunfire's they might be nice to try. Most high end folk I know never gave the Sunfire much credit but it served me well. It has a high enough output impedence to be easily driven by most preamp/processors, and it certainly boasts enough power. I recently sold mine because I switched to tubes, but my stereo version sold within a week, and the multi-channel versions are listed here are in your budget.

bryston, classe, and krell are all excellent, and all have new and used models in or near your pricerange. they all match well with most conventional speaker systems, and are all reliable, and neutral

McCormack is a good way to go. Some say the DNA .5 sounds better with less power. More power will generally give you tighter bass and more dynamics. If you have efficient speakers (89db and up) you don't need as much power. It depends on your listening habits too. Most listening is done with only the first few watts of power. You could match your pre-amp with a Bryston amp. Many people like these with 20 yr warranty too. Classe, Krell, Bryston, McCormack are all good, and there are many more. You might search for others that have tried many different brands of amps on B&W 805 speakers. I am sure they can help narrow your search.

If you can pop for $1650, you might want to look into
"Red Dragon" here on the Gon.

I think you should add McCormack DNA225 ( they go for around 1500 used) to your list and yes I beleive you will see a nice improvement over the Adcom.

Good luck,

Burton