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Best Amp to drive my Apogee Stages?

Greetings all.
I am wondering if I might get some good suggestions from anyone who might be firmiliar with the Apogee Stages. I have owned them for quite awhile, but due to blowing up my Krell (300i)intergrated amplifier more than once now (a $400 bill to fix it each time) I beleive that it is time to buy the right amplifier for the job. I need more power for sure, but my wallet is light these days. This means that I must minimize my purchase to something definitly under $2K and even more like $1200 price range. This seems to limit me quite a bit in my findings, but I am wondering if I might have missed something with my research so far? I have reviewed Krell, Levinson, Pass Labs and Threshold to date. Each have older options in my price range, but I am not certain if any will work better with my speakers?

Any thoughts out there?

Thank you in advance.

-LoveItLoud
loveitloud
jimburger
104 posts
 
Try older Classe'Audio. DR8, DR9, Fifteen, or Twenty-Five.
All great amps with plenty of current drive. Jason Bloom of Apogee used to demonstrate the Stage at audio shows with the DR8. Threshold S Series amps like S/200, S/300, or S/500 would work fine too. Best Apogee demo I ever heard was Apogee Duetta Signature driven by Threshold SA4e at Bay Area Audio show back in 1989. I never forgot the magic. Threshold SA4e is essentially unobtainable these days but it was one of the all time great Nelson Pass designs.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Jeff Rowland Model 5 is your perfect match. Currently listed on Audiogon for $1600.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Pass Labs is a great choice, but not in your budget. A old Threshold would be perfect. Something that might not be a conventional recommendation, but was surprising good for the money is the Sunfire amps. They are powerful and high current. At used prices, you can always sell w/o a loss. I've heard them drive plenty of tough loads.
Something else is a BATvk500, in your range more or less. Cheers,

Spencer
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