Hidden Gems in Pre-Owned Solid State Power Amplifiers?


Browse the listings for power amplifiers (e.g. under $5K) and you notice a myriad of Classe, Parasound, Bryston, older McIntosh and Mark Levinson and lots of Pass Labs.
So many in fact that you wonder why.
What are the true audiophile gems in the pre-owned solid state market? Thanks in advance.
avanti1960
1996 Carver TFM-35x.  Bought it new.
Still going strong today. No issues. Sounded so close to a McIntosh 275, I sold my Mac after getting a good offer on it. 
Teamed up with DCM TimeWindow 3 speakers. 
Magic!!
Pass XA 30.5; such a music maker!

@avanti1960 
My dad had a white 1963 Studebaker Avanti, R2 with red interior from 1979 to 2012. I should have kept that one. I helped him put a solid state ignition in it and was with him when he rechromed all the pieces under the hood. I had a lot of fun with that car. Such a sweet exhaust note.... coming off speed and hearing the back pressure throaty sound was a joy. I still have heads for an R2 that we were going to revamp to make R3 once we bored the block out to 304.5 ci. Never got to do it, but it was a nice dream. 
The Mark Levinson 532 is a giant killer, not the “H” series though. It’s better than most amps I’ve ever heard, does most everything right...
avanti1960
Hidden Gems in Pre-Owned Solid State Power Amplifiers?


If you can find them, and have the money, as they are very sought after.

A pair of Mark Levinson ML2’s, 25w Class-A monoblocks, that said to be able to double wattage for each halving of impedance that all the way down to 1ohm and that works out to be 200w into 1ohm.

Their no good for the "party set" unless driving Klipsch/JBL’s, but will happily drive the Wilson Alexia (one of the worst load ever .9ohm!!) all day without breaking a sweat to a comfortable good level, after all they are only 25w into 8ohm.

http://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/05/504/50446/c.jpg

https://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/05/504/50446/a.jpg

Cheers George


You need to not only look at their number, but the prices.

The deep discounts will tell you more about how frequently buyers tend to want to move them than how many were sold.

I like Parasound, in general, as a solid, neutral to warm piece of gear that looks great, and has great flexibility and very reliable. .