Favorite Amplifier that you could buy, but don’t buy…

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What is your favorite amplifier that you could afford, but just don’t buy because it’s not cost-effective?

Mac? Bryston? Mark Levinson? PassLab? ATI?

What are the 3 most important factors that contribute to your answer?

Aesthetic? Pride of ownership? Sound quality?

 

[TLS Guy]

What is your favorite amplifier that you could afford, but just don’t buy because it’s not cost-effective?

Mac? Bryston? Mark Levinson? PassLab? ATI?

What are the 3 most important factors that contribute to your answer?

Aesthetic? Pride of ownership? Sound quality?

Reliability is top of the list for me. Ultra low distortion, especially crossover distortion and superb SNR. That is what I demand in an amp. Low heat production is also a string consideration.

 

[mono-bloc]

-Interesting question. It really comes down to what one user can afford.. If it was choice then it would be a European brand. Most American brands are ove priced
rubbish, and with the exchange rates are completely out of anyone' thinking. Consider the fact that the american price has to be more or less doubled, plus freight and GST

Price no object wou ld be Gryphon, with a life time guarantee. or the Polish brand Block. For a more realistic price Cyrus, upper range models . Class "D" would be an absolute No No. Our mates Quad are more or less unknow in Oz, with one dealer in Melbourne https://soundreference.com.au/brands/QUAD.html And I don't know of anyone who owns Quad or anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone with Quod. I'm not saying there bad, but they completely lack any sort of advertising.

 

[ski2xblack]

Practically speaking? Amps are mature tech.* Pick one with low distortion, linear response, low output impedance, and enough power that you won't clip it, and voila, your "amp problem" is solved for decades.

That's the reductive Arny Kreuger-ish take. Sorry, Andrew!

I do have some techno curiosity about TLS' preferred Quads. Really clever. No crossover distortion with those, class A output without being toaster ovens, low parts count, wide tolerances for those parts, and longevity in spades. Sure, things like crossover distortion in class AB amps is a long solved problem, and any good amp should last a long time. Still, from an engineering+design perspective, those Quads are very interesting.

* Class AB solid state amps are mature tech. If/when I need another amp, it will most likely be a hypex based one, and probably an unglamorous one since I keep the amps out of sight. Those hypex amps seem to be mature tech as well, and bring SOTA performance on the bench that surpasses everything that has come before.

 

[lovinthehd]

Since I haven't found much to the sound quality thing, nor aesthetic, I generally go for value/price for power/impedance handling. I have some 40 year old Carver amps that make a bit too much noise these days, but not sure many others would be much better at the aging thing.....