My understanding is in this thread we post recommendations for "value" amps. That is, where you get "bang for the buck".
A month or so ago I purchased the Sherwood RX-5502 (see attached datasheet) for $160 delivered. Before I get too far let me state the amp was built in China, but designed in the US.
What I was originally looking for was an amp to power my AR's which are 4 ohm and somewhat "power hungry". I didn't find many "economical" amps capable of 4 ohm loads and was pleasantly surprised by this Sherwood. This unit as 4 full range amps each capable of 70 wpc at 8 ohms or 100 wpc at 4 ohms. That's right, these are NOT those little HT amps rated at 1000hz.
Sherwood advertises the unit as capable of driving 8 speakers in two separate rooms. That is, there are controls for main and room2.
That "feature" didn't interest me at all and I doubt it would interest anyone here. Like most I like my amps near my speakers.
What the amp does allow for, however, is passive horizontal bi-amping in the most economical form I've ever seen. Today I'm using the main amp to power the mids and tweeters of my AR's and the room2 amp to drive the woofers. (Using just the 3 terminals AR provided. I've posted this in the speaker forum, but wanted to share here as well.)
My main interest in passive bi-amping is to get total control over the speaker's voice. Many companies, AR included, put controls (attenuators) on their speakers so that the consumer had some control over voice. That control is limited! In the attached graph you'll see the response curve on my AR's with those controls at max. (This response was AR's intent, because at that time record companies were emphasizing high frequencies to compensate for the poor playback devices prevalent at that time.)
So what if you want "bright" or West Coast sounding speakers? Well, that's where bi-amping comes into play. You simply apply more power to the mid/tweeters and presto - you can make your speakers sound like anything you want with clicks of the remote control.
So, far I am very happy with this Sherwood unit.
Regards,
Jerry