Amplifiers:A Keeper for Life. Do you know of one ?

Shake777...........................

You should not be embarassed having Emotiva products. They offer a lot of bang for the buck and a nice system can easily be built with their electronics. I myself own an Emotiva XDA-1 D/A converter which I use in conjunction with a Musical Fidelity usb/spdif converter. The Emotiva is highly revealing and musical. One of the best buys in all of high end audio.

You'll think I'm crazy but for me it's a 1981 Heathkit AA-1600. It's an A/B, rated at 120 wpc but probably 180 (it weighs over 40 lbs) and it's simply unbelievable. I picked this thing up in the used section of a local audio store. It's 30 years old and its performance reminds me (strongly) of the Jeff Rowland Design Group amps of the early '90s.

It's dead quiet, dead neutral, and reasonably fast (linear out to at least 150KHz). So far it has never betrayed me for resolution, inner detail, tonal balance, musicality, pace, noiselessness, reliability, or you name it. I know Heath has a great reputation and history, but I have no idea why a 1981 power amp would be so *right*.

Berning EA-230 has been a keeper for my Quad esl 57's. I plan to have Quads Unlimited refresh the 57's next year so I plan to keep the system as is for a long time. The ZH-230 may be better but not for the asking price.

I bought a Hafler 9180 new in 1995. 105W @ 8 ohms and 150W @ 4. I drive Thiel CS 2's. The Hafler IS musical thoughout the range from bass to hi's. Never had one problem with the unit. Sad that Hafler's are no longer made. Rockford Corp., the owner of Hafler has no intention of re-starting the line. I asked. Really too bad. There are many power amps under mega buck prices which are keepers.

My Leben CS 300 EL 84 tube integratedamp. Started out with EL 84 amp in 1963, if I had stayed pat I would have saved myself a lot of time and money.