Suggestions needed for an SS Stereo Amp w/+175wpc

the outlaw 2200 monos straight out of the box they are very sharp there are many good techs that will modify and i bet youd be happy ive seen used outlaws under $200

I am currently using a Sonogy Black Knight MkII with my KEF 105.1's. Solid state dynamics with the performance "air" of tubes.

Mapman, Bob, Maddoggy, and Butcherboy,
Thanks for your responses and recommendations.

Bob, I am not an expert. I was under the impression that one of the benefits of having a lot of power improves dynamics. (Of course, if it's not on the original recording, that's another story.) Also, I have been following the discussion on the thread re Ohms over in the Speakers forum, and I seem to recall that the Ohm's perform best with a lot of power. This was the basis for my statement. My musical taste is very broad-I enjoy almost everything but rap. Also, I do not not listen at very loud levels, except for some rock (The Who, Led Zep., etc)

Dante,

I believe it is true in general that you need more power to make the OHMs sing, but there is more to it tha that. Not all watts are created equal nor are all OHMs equally power hungry (though they are largely as a group). Some additional qualifications are needed

Here are the technical factors I know of that matter in selecting an amp for the OHMs:

1) input impedance. This is more of a factor with tube preamps which tend to have higher inherent output impedances in general than SS. Lower amp input/preamp output impedance ratios will theroetically tend to negatively affect low end (bass) performance and perhaps other areas as well. How much difference you might hear based on this spec alone is debatable, but higher is generally safer

2) watts. In general more watts will go louder but that is about all this alone assures.

3) amps - in general higher current delivery will enable the amp to take better control of the driver at any listening volume enabling better macro and microdynamics

4) efficiency/power delivery into 8 4 and perhaps even 2 ohms (power rating mostly doubles into these loads). Amps that do this better in general should be able to drive the OHMs consistently at various frequencies and deliver a more balanced sound even at lower volumes

5) Damping factor. This is the similar impedance matching issue but now from amp to speakers. Higher damping factors are generally considered better. If it were me I would avoid amps with less than 30:1 damping factor into 8 ohms unless there is an opportunity to listen first. Above this, I would not let this sway me, although in general higher damping factors should lead to tighter, more controlled bass, all other factors aside.

6) I have the biggest and hardest to drive OHMs (5s) and the smaller 100s. My Musical Fidelity A3CR amp at 120w/ch into 8 OHMs deos a very good job driving both, but has to work much harder for the 5s. In a good application (OHM is matched well to room size), I think there may be diminishing returns with 100s with more powerful amps than what I already have. I believe the larger OHMs in bigger rooms, like the 5s, can benefit from an amp that can deliver a well matched 250w/ch or even more.

BTW, I've had the big OHM5s in my smaller room where the 100s normally reside as an experiment and found no advantage soundwise there. In fact, the 100s worked better because they are smaller and had more room to breathe. Fitting the OHM to the room correctly is the other very important thing to consider beyond amp selection and such.

Hope this helps.