Recommend a new power amp, please...

[CKDC]

We are a helpful bunch!

I would not kick either from my rack.

 

[Rex Aeterna]

^^^^^^^^^
Exactly. A good speaker and amp pairing will portray depth and width in an anechoic chamber. It's got very little to do with how the speakers play in the room and much more to do with their dynamic range and transparency in simply recreating the latent sonic characteristics in the recording.

i know that....i did studio work myself on my own before and messed with room acoustics for over several years....i always prefer air-sucking dry dead-sounding rooms. even just for reading or meditating, i like super dead rooms below 10db noise floor....i don't mind and enjoy the unique sound of silence. i say speakers have the much more a role in soundstage/separation due to dispersion, phase and polar response coherency than an amp has influence on.

 

[damacman]

Have you decided? If you were really patient, you may find an MC7200 within that budget ...

 

[BillTheCat]

Have you decided? If you were really patient, you may find an MC7200 within that budget ...

Wow. Yeah, I did. Sorry, I should have clicked in to report that I picked up a VERY clean Bryston 4BST Pro for $1100.

I also just picked up a Krell KRC-3 to go with it and anticipate putting the C28 up for sale shortly.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[hifitommy]

i might try a tubed preamp like a cj or one of the affordable chinese preamps with the sae. i have VERY nice sound using a tubed preamp and a ss power amp. it's worth a try and dynamics will likely pick up.

the lackluster sound you are experiencing from the mac preamp will go away.

 

[BillTheCat]

i might try a tubed preamp like a cj or one of the affordable chinese preamps with the sae. i have VERY nice sound using a tubed preamp and a ss power amp. it's worth a try and dynamics will likely pick up.

the lackluster sound you are experiencing from the mac preamp will go away.

Per my reply above, we're all good.

Bryston 4BST
Krell KRC-3

Thanks!