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Best 200w power amp for around $400?

The Acurus A250 is a perfect match for those speakers. But really you should be using something more expensive like an Aragon.
 
Hawkeye83 said:
Yes I realize this is a zombie thread, LOL.
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Glad somebody saw it. :D
OP hasn't been around since Aug.
That all being said it looks as though the OP got the Adcom according to post #28 but was wondering if he/she/they should get the companion Adcom pre for $100. That question was raised back in 2013, I wonder what @js bach decided.

After reading through all the old posts I agree with @hifitommy in his post #34. My son was using a Carver C-1 pre with his Carver m1.5t, it sounded good until we swapped in my Audio Research LS-3 pre. Suffice it to say I probably won't see that pre-amp back anytime soon.
 
Hafler and Crown made nice amps around 200 watts that you can find for that kind of money. All older amps will need to be restored however, And that can be very pricey. Amps like Bryston and Mcintosh will be much more costly and that is because they are designed to have a long service life. No so for most middle of the road electronics mentioned above. B&K is component specific. Their stereo and amps with lower combined channels have a great performance history while the 7 channel amps, the HT processor-amps all fail to soon. Cooling is very important to amps and the closer you can keep them to ambient temperature the longer they will last.
 
Just looked on the auction site and saw a QSC PLX2402 for under $300 with shipping. 425WPC @ .03 THD from 20-20. And that's RMS rated, not peak. I'm running an ISA280 I got for $100 with a bad power switch that took all of 5 minutes to replace. Fan was noisy, as it was a 120mmX35mm leafblower running under 24V. Dropped in a step down transformer and a 120mmX24mm computer fan. Now it's quiet as a mouse with a faint blue glow from the front vents. I used it in stereo mode with my towers just to see how it sounded, and was really surprised at how well it meshed.
 
twiiii said:
Hafler and Crown made nice amps around 200 watts that you can find for that kind of money.
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I've been running a new Crown XLi 1500 for about 8 weeks

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/amplifier-break-in.504026/#post-12202888

watts per dollar is outstanding

but what about SQ ?? Not bad , really it isnt poor sounding :) For subwoofer or woofer driving it is totally acceptable -- jury still out on driving mids and highs

I have plans (who knows when) to do a few mods at critical points inside
 
@Speedbump71 sez:
Dont forget about Parasound. HCA-2200 is a beast, and the New Classic 2250 is rated at 250W into 8 and 400 into 4/2 Ohms. I have been pleased with mine.

My question is:
Were you able to get that unit for around $400?
 
The Denon POA amps are beasts. They are powerful and sound good. The speakers connectors are sort of funky but can be worked around. They would probably be in your price range. I owned two of the POA 2200s.
 
a_retent said:
@Speedbump71 sez:
Dont forget about Parasound. HCA-2200 is a beast, and the New Classic 2250 is rated at 250W into 8 and 400 into 4/2 Ohms. I have been pleased with mine.

My question is:
Were you able to get that unit for around $400?
Click to expand...


Yes. I paid about $450 for my New Classic 2250 V1. I have seen others sell in that range.

[Mod Edit]

Sorry Mods: (I linked a no - no here)
 
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Holy necro-thread, Batman!

But it’s still a useful question and not much seems to have changed since 2013.

B&K is a good value on the used market. Well-designed, really good-sounding, and robust. The Reference 200.2 S2 is recent enough to not need restoration (maybe mid-to-late aughts), and routinely available under $400. It uses an excellent Class A/AB MOSFET push-pull design, with a very large toroidal transformer and filter caps bigger than soda cans. The only weakness is the lack of an attenuator, so you need a preamp with a volume control.

Rick “who recently bought a 125.2 and is quite pleased” Denney
 
Nothing has changed since 2013: Adcom GFA-555 is still the /king/ of inexpensive quality 200 wpc @ 8ohm power amps, and ~$400 is still the going rate for a unit in good shape but probably not reworked.

In Pass we trust.
 
Considering the thread started in 2013 and its 5 years later ...

At various times I used
Adcom 555 (not the II - not the early version with rack handles, and the regular)
a JBL/UREI 6260 (150w/ch) and 6290 (300w/ch)
and I am currently using -
Harman Kardon Citation 22 (now bridged/mono - 400w for my sub)
B&K ST202plus (200w/ch) - nice warm tube-like sound

All of those amps were at roughly the $200-250 price point when I got them.

Updated from the future to add pictures after the fact!
Adcom-amps-4513.jpg UREI-2008-AmpStack_1474.jpg

HK-Citation22-4900.jpg
 
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I'll toss in Rotel.
I have a RB-990BX, 200 wpc@8 ohms, 330wpc@4 ohms and supposedly is a high current capable amp.
Paid $200 for mine maybe 3 years ago, still see them listed often and selling for between $200-$400.
 
The PS Audio 200CX can be found for $400-600. This is a true high end, 70lb amplifier capable of getting the most out of almost any speaker type. Just make sure the caps are new. Borrowed image below.
B7D66A13-876E-4BB5-ACBC-DFFCE385115B.jpeg
 
Too bad I don't have a time machine because I would go back to 2013, when the OP first posted this thread and suggest the Adcom GFA 555II..which he ended up with.
 
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