I have probably owned 20 amps over the 40 years as an enthusiast and a Dealer. Closed the Dealer doors some 10 years ago.
Probably the best overall SS amp was a Kinergetics KBA 75, a class A amp. I tried a number of amps to power my then Genesis Vs, the KBA was the only amp that made them stand up and boogie. I saw an upgraded one for sale recently at a very good price, if you can afford the electricity and need a room heater.
There are a couple reasons why you see so many vg amps being sold. Among them; people in the biz selling their older model, impedance mismatch between amp and preamp (more common than you think), a move from SS to tube, OR, a move from conventional SS to class D, and now to GaN. I have owned 6 different class Ds, including W4S, Audio Alchemy and PS Audio Stellar M700s (both bargains), but I have a large room and need more power
Recently I purchased a EVS 1200 direct from Ric Schultz. He starts with the current OEM dual 600w IcePower class D modules (which some people simply put in a box and sell). Not Ric. His are highly tweaked and rival the sound of my beloved KBA 75. He sells direct for a mere ~$2400 + options http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/EVS_1200_amplifier.html
Of late,Underwood HiFI has introduced a possible game changer: the Voyager GaN amp, for people who only need ~ 200-400 wpc. Comparing to other GaN amps, it is priced at about 1/10th their price. Underwood is shooting for late December release. I expect to have one soon, If interested, I have a very popular EVS 1200 thread, and will start one once I get the GaN
hth
Probably the best overall SS amp was a Kinergetics KBA 75, a class A amp. I tried a number of amps to power my then Genesis Vs, the KBA was the only amp that made them stand up and boogie. I saw an upgraded one for sale recently at a very good price, if you can afford the electricity and need a room heater.
There are a couple reasons why you see so many vg amps being sold. Among them; people in the biz selling their older model, impedance mismatch between amp and preamp (more common than you think), a move from SS to tube, OR, a move from conventional SS to class D, and now to GaN. I have owned 6 different class Ds, including W4S, Audio Alchemy and PS Audio Stellar M700s (both bargains), but I have a large room and need more power
Recently I purchased a EVS 1200 direct from Ric Schultz. He starts with the current OEM dual 600w IcePower class D modules (which some people simply put in a box and sell). Not Ric. His are highly tweaked and rival the sound of my beloved KBA 75. He sells direct for a mere ~$2400 + options http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/EVS_1200_amplifier.html
Of late,Underwood HiFI has introduced a possible game changer: the Voyager GaN amp, for people who only need ~ 200-400 wpc. Comparing to other GaN amps, it is priced at about 1/10th their price. Underwood is shooting for late December release. I expect to have one soon, If interested, I have a very popular EVS 1200 thread, and will start one once I get the GaN
hth