Amps for around $600 or so. Need suggestions...

[chops-tube]

I'm selling my Monarchy Audio amp (Class A 25w x 2) for something with a little more power. Yes, I want more power, but also quality of course.

Obviously, I'm looking at the used market, and at amps from 75w @ 8 ohms and up, solid state. The kind of amps that I'm looking at/for...

Linn LK 140
Linn AV5105
Linn Majik 2100
McIntosh MC2100/MC2105
McIntosh MC7100
Aragon 2004 Mk II
Acurus A100
Acurus A150

Any thought, suggestions, pointers?

As always, many thanks in advance!

[cma29]

Hi, Charles.

I had an Aragon 4004 Mk II for 20 years and that was a great amp. I'd look into that one.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by chops-tube

I'm selling my Monarchy Audio amp (Class A 25w x 2) for something with a little more power. Yes, I want more power, but also quality of course.

Obviously, I'm looking at the used market, and at amps from 75w @ 8 ohms and up, solid state. The kind of amps that I'm looking at/for...

Linn LK 140
Linn AV5105
Linn Majik 2100
McIntosh MC2100/MC2105
McIntosh MC7100
Aragon 2004 Mk II
Acurus A100
Acurus A150

Any thought, suggestions, pointers?

As always, many thanks in advance!

Hi Charles,
Hum... you are pointing very different amps in this list.
I have heard extensively all the Linn amps you are mentionning. I never heard those vintage Mcs but as a Mc vintage lover in general, I would support the old Mcs without any reserve.
They are "fruity" and more juicy and musical compared to the Linn's but they also give the impression of much more power than the Linn's. If you never listened to them on your system, you should try one. That is a very interesting experience. To my ears, the little MC225 amplifier for example is more musical than the 2301's. And the 2205 is more musical than the 501's. And I owned the 501's for one year and the 2301's for 2 years. Of course, you may end up with a different opinion and prefer more the color of the sound of nowadays. But that is, once again, a very interesting experience.

Mc's power supply and output transformers are in an other world compared to the Linn's. The music has a weight and presence that Linn amps can only dream of. The only Linn amp that could give a fair amount of this presence is the Klout but I don't think that you could find one for 600 dollars and getting old, the Linn's are far from the Mc reliability. They almost all get problems like we poor humans get ! The Mcs are built to be transferred to the next generations. Plus, when you buy an old Mc, it won't cost you a penny. If you end up not liking it, you will sell it at the same price or higher, and you will sell it easily and fast...

I do not know Aragon and Acurus.

[JPrest]

You could be pleasantly surprised by how good a McIntosh 2505 sounds. They are easy to come by, and the restoration only requires a few caps and resistors thus very affordable.
Good Luck

[chops-tube]

Originally Posted by cma29

Hi, Charles.

I had an Aragon 4004 Mk II for 20 years and that was a great amp. I'd look into that one.

I would too, but they are hard to come by. In fact, all of the Aragon amps are hard to come by. And in my price range.

[chops-tube]

Originally Posted by Jerome W

Hi Charles,
Hum... you are pointing very different amps in this list.
I have heard extensively all the Linn amps you are mentionning. I never heard those vintage Mcs but as a Mc vintage lover in general, I would support the old Mcs without any reserve.
They are "fruity" and more juicy and musical compared to the Linn's but they also give the impression of much more power than the Linn's. If you never listened to them on your system, you should try one. That is a very interesting experience. To my ears, the little MC225 amplifier for example is more musical than the 2301's. And the 2205 is more musical than the 501's. And I owned the 501's for one year and the 2301's for 2 years. Of course, you may end up with a different opinion and prefer more the color of the sound of nowadays. But that is, once again, a very interesting experience.

Mc's power supply and output transformers are in an other world compared to the Linn's. The music has a weight and presence that Linn amps can only dream of. The only Linn amp that could give a fair amount of this presence is the Klout but I don't think that you could find one for 600 dollars and getting old, the Linn's are far from the Mc reliability. They almost all get problems like we poor humans get ! The Mcs are built to be transferred to the next generations. Plus, when you buy an old Mc, it won't cost you a penny. If you end up not liking it, you will sell it at the same price or higher, and you will sell it easily and fast...

I do not know Aragon and Acurus.

Originally Posted by JPrest

You could be pleasantly surprised by how good a McIntosh 2505 sounds. They are easy to come by, and the restoration only requires a few caps and resistors thus very affordable.
Good Luck

I'm very familiar with the vintage Mac amps. My very first "Bay" purchase was an MC250. I had that amp for quite a few years before moving on to the Aragon 2004 MK II. Then after the 2004, I had an MC2100.

It would be great to get a 2505 or 2105, but I'd have to save a for a few more pennies, but could be done. They're the same amps as the 250 and 2100, just with the nice blue meters. Plus, I prefer having all the connections on the back, not the left side.


Jerome, it's been years since I've heard any of the old Linn amps, and I thought they sounded pretty darn good. Of course, they were part of an all Linn system, including speakers.


As I figured, you guys would be pushing me towards McIntosh, and I've been leaning that way for some time now, so most likely I'll get one, most likely the 2105 since it does have more balls which these speakers of mine needs.

On that note, keep the suggestions coming, and if you know of an available Mac amp hiding away somewhere, let me know!

Again, many thanks!

[chops-tube]

Anyone have anything to say about the MC7100?

How about some of the older Crown amps like the DC-300A, PS-400, SA-2 or PSA-2 <-- Vintage Pete

What about the old, big Nakamichi Stasis PA5 and PA7 amps?

[enit]

Mc7100 are nice amps. Got mine for many years, zero breakdown rate.

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[chops-tube]

Originally Posted by enit

Mc7100 are nice amps. Got mine for many years, zero breakdown rate.

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

I'm sure it is, but how does it compare sound wise to other Mac amps like the 250 and 2100 being that they have output autoformers and the 7100 doesn't?

My oldest brother had a 7200 for a while and I was unimpressed. Then again, he was using some cheap AMC tube preamp and old Klipsch Cornwall's. The preamp was junk and the Cornwall's weren't all that great in stock form.

[chops-tube]

Another amp I'm considering for a couple of reasons...

The MC7108

For one, I can use my Mojo power cable with it (all the others I can't as they have hard-wired power cables, it's bridgeable for four 100 watt channels, and it's a newer amp so I wouldn't be worried about leaving it powered up 24/7.

I've got these nice Mojo PC's, the amp one being the best as it's a flat ribbon design and did make a major improvement in sound with the other amps I've used.

I can bridge the eight 40w channels down to four 100w channels. In doing this, I get the extra grunt I need, plus I can run "shot-gun" speaker cables to the NHT's, bi-amping them so to speak.

And lastly, it's a fairly new amplifier compared to the other Mac amps I can afford with the exception of the MC7100. These two amps are the only ones I would feel comfortable leaving on all the time. Again, with the 7100, I wouldn't be able to use my Mojo PC.

Plus I just like the way this amp looks, with all the lettering all lit up a nice warm green.