Highest clean output per dollar.

guest110

Super Member
Building a vintage system with some power hungry speakers and looking for reasonable options in the 200 wpc plus range. I guess I really mean RMS. What are the best bang for the buck options? Coming from the tubular world, excessive power is new to me, but could use some suggestions. Interested in power only as we have a great preamp. Seen some Bryston and Adcom offerings that look intriguing. Wondering what else is out there ( looking used, not new as value weighs heavily on this set up). No class D please. I guess budget would be up to $1000, but most interested in value, so if I could spend a few 100 I'd be happy.

Edit: forgot to mention, this will be a 2ch system.
 
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I have an Adcom 5800 that I really like. Its a monster and IMO sounds very good. Designed by Nelson Pass and they can be found for good prices. Unlike some other Adcom amps the 5800 and 5802 have speaker protection circuits.
250 watts at 8ohms, 400 watts into 4 ohms
 
Some great suggestions here. Can we post what we paid divided by the power output (say @4 Ohms) for comparisons? I know there is more to power than dollars spent, but the data could be useful. For example, the Aragon appears to go for around 2.5$/w while the Adcom is about 1.5. (Using a crude used market guide- actual member numbers would be better). For me, this is a useful starting point where I can next compare other parameters.
 
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I have a Denon POA-2200 which is rated for 200 into 8 ohms, but measures at 239. I think it does 300+ into 4 ohms. You can usually pick these up for around 400 bucks. Very smooth and rich sounding with great woofer/bass control.
 
Phase Linear amps make a lot of wattage for the dollar. I also hear really excellent things about the White Oak driver board upgrade. Never heard one myself, but it looks like good stuff. Honestly, they don't sound bad in stock trim if its working properly. They are a bit more fragile than a Crown though. I have a Pro 700, and its not half bad. I'm not natively a solid state guy either, but with a tube preamp its actually very listenable. I've clocked mine at an honest 425w rms, though to be fair I didn't do a full spectrum sweep. The manual says it will do that though, and I think 360w at very low distortion and pretty flat response across the range. The White Oak rigs apparently do closer to 500w per channel with flat response.
 
A pair of NAD 216 or 218 could probably be found for your price range.

I'll second Crown stuff (as mentioned).

A well restored and correctly modified Bose 1801.

Pioneer SPEC 2 (I can not believe they sell reasonably cheap...or they did).

Phase Linear has been mentioned, you want the II or B. The original was not heavy enough to push the power it was capable of. Not enough heat sink.
 
Pro audio amps. Big power relatively low cost. Most are rated for 2 ohm operation, have built in bridging capability, etc.

I paid $0.23 per watt for some very clean QSC PLX 3402s. 1,100 wpc @ 4 ohms in 2-ch mode, 20Hz - 20kHz, 0.05% THD. Rated for 2 ohms.

Paid $0.18 per watt for a pair of Crown Microtech 1200s that when used as bridged monoblocks will do 1,130wpc each @ 4 ohms, 20Hz - 20kHz, 0.1% THD. Or, 450wpc each @ 4 ohms in 2-ch mode. Rated to 1 ohm if you use the parallel output mode.

There are, of course, less powerful and more powerful examples out there to suit ones needs.
 
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A few of my favorite pro audio:

Crown XLS-202, 402, 802
QSC 910USA, 1310USA

These are much better built than some of the home amps mentioned above.
 
i have had Parasound 1200mk2.... B&K Ref 200.2... Acurus 250.... B&K Ref 2220.... and now th CJ MF-200. All of these were high current amps and all had good qualities. and all of them can be found in the $400-600 range.
I have ended with the CJ because my ears find it to be the warmest and just seems a bit more dynamic. But I was happy with all of these 200+ W amps.
 
I second the Parasound 1200, or anything Parasound.not a fan of class D amps(harsh when pushed)i also had a JBL Urie poweramp that really impressed me.Got that one for $150.it was also a ridiculous weight.
 
I do not track the pricing but maybe a McIntosh MC2200 would be in that range. I don't not think they are as popular a Mc amp as most.

Also look for the Philips Lab Series power amp. 200 per side and can be had in the $0.50 per watt price range. Even comes with a set of fast reacting meters, provision for 2 sets of speakers and input attenuators. They also can with a silver or black faceplate.
 
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