@oldaudiophile I hope all is well. A little more active over here compared to the Stereophile forum.
I might focus on improving your DAC. You can keep using the Marantz as a transport, but stepping forward with a better DAC will have a big impact.
That being said, a better amp can have a positive impact. Mc and Krell are great. I don't listen to either one frequently. A buddy had the Krell and sold it but kept a Krell Power Amp driving a pair of Focal Arias. It is very good sounding gear.
I have preferences for a few other brands. If you are looking for clean, clear, accurate and powerful, Hegel is awesome. If you are looking for something that is more musical and engaging while still delivering a lot of power, I love AVM.
You are between the 390 and 590 from Hegel but they have very good internal DACs. You would get excellent amplification AND a DAC upgrade with either.
The AVM A5.2 is a nice unit and would leave you room to upgrade your DA converter at existing budget. Read the review from Gary Beard over at Positive Feedback. Or the A6.2 Master Edition is right on budget. There is a recent review from Herb Reichert in stereophile.
Both would be brilliant with your current speakers and would work well with speakers would be natural progressions from the Revels like higher end Revels or Perlisten, etc....
I might focus on improving your DAC. You can keep using the Marantz as a transport, but stepping forward with a better DAC will have a big impact.
That being said, a better amp can have a positive impact. Mc and Krell are great. I don't listen to either one frequently. A buddy had the Krell and sold it but kept a Krell Power Amp driving a pair of Focal Arias. It is very good sounding gear.
I have preferences for a few other brands. If you are looking for clean, clear, accurate and powerful, Hegel is awesome. If you are looking for something that is more musical and engaging while still delivering a lot of power, I love AVM.
You are between the 390 and 590 from Hegel but they have very good internal DACs. You would get excellent amplification AND a DAC upgrade with either.
The AVM A5.2 is a nice unit and would leave you room to upgrade your DA converter at existing budget. Read the review from Gary Beard over at Positive Feedback. Or the A6.2 Master Edition is right on budget. There is a recent review from Herb Reichert in stereophile.
Both would be brilliant with your current speakers and would work well with speakers would be natural progressions from the Revels like higher end Revels or Perlisten, etc....