Nautilus 801's- Cheaper Amplification

You should definitely check out the Audio Van Alstine amps. Gobs of power with detail, and gorgeous bass. Will beat anything 2-3 times their price in pure sonic performance. If you listen with your ears, check out the new OmegaStar amps at:
http://www.avahifi.com/
Any specific questions, feel free to e-mail me.
Happy Listening!
Ed

I know that many people put down carver designed amps, however I have using a sunfire(300 watts/ch)amp to drive my 801 ser.II's with great success. very sweet and dynamic. New 2400, used around 1000.I think that it's worth a try.
Jim

A pair of Bryston 7B-ST monoblocks can be found for around 3K used - best transferable 20 year warranty in the biz and your tube preamp would be a great match up. Lots of other good choices out there in your price range - Classe, Aragon Palladium monos, pair of older Levinsons to name a few others...

I have heard the N801's driven by an Aragon 8008BB with very nice results. The amp seemed to tame the sometimes too forward for my taste tweeter. I would assume that the Bryston amplifier line would be a good choice as well, especially if you prefer a more forward treble. I think that there are some great relatively inexpensive high current amplifiers currently available on Audiogon for under 2000. Good Luck.

Without a doubt, look into Balanced Audio Technology.
Start out with one vk500. They sell used for around 3k max.
I own the vk1000 monos and the vk50se. I am still, after 2years with my set-up very happy with my overall sound. The vk500 truly is a sleeper bargain in my opinion. I'm sure there are other great choices also.

www.balanced.com

http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/2896.html

I would choose one of the two best 5 channel amps in the world, either the California Audio Labs CL-2500 or the Theta Dreadnaught.

Excellent 2 channel and of course aweseom surround!!

Dan

Try a pair of bel canto 200.2 bridged mono - you can get a pair around 2600 or so, wonderful precise sound.

Dp37 - you have got what I have. I also have a pair of N801s, with HTM, and N805 in a five speaker home theater set up. My audio habits are also 50/50 home theater vs. 2-channel listening. I have a Krell KAV-1500 which does the job quite well. It is a 5-channel at 300 watts/channel. I use 4 channels to biamp the N801, and the fifth channel for center channel HTM. The 1500 is a very musical amp, while it also provides consistency across the front three speakers. I use a cheaper 5 channel amp to bi-amp the N805 surrounds. You can get a used Krell KAV-1500 for just a shade below $4000 on Audiogon. Good luck!