Power amp advice/opinions needed

[hifi_dave]

My personal inclination would be to opt for a suitably powerful Quad amp. They always sound decent and seem a safe choice soundwise with most speakers.

Can't go wrong with a Quad.

[lewis]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The Avondale amp, am I correct in thinking this is based on the Naim Nap 250 olive series, it is an interesting amp but I was told the olive series Naims should not be matched with a wide bandwidth pre-amp, would the Avondale also have this restriction? Quad Artera, I must confess I'd never heard of this amp, I will investigate further. Parasound A21, this was on my shortlist but I discounted it due to it's non British origins (who would fix it if it broke), It's a bit dear and it's quite large and heavy to put it mildly. In answer to the A5 question, no, I stupidly never tried mixing the MFs and Densens, seems obvious now but for some reason I never did it. I'm a bit confused regarding the Meridian 557, there are plenty of pictures on the internet of the rear panel which shows "Min 8 ohms" between the normal speaker terminals and "Min 16 ohms" across the bridged mode terminals, likewise there are plenty of pictures of back panels not stating this! So which is it I wonder, are there two different versions out there?
Anyway, Densen have come back to me saying they hope to get the amp back off to me by the end of next week, perhaps I'll wait until I have it back and see how I feel. (That Avondale is tempting at that price though, even just to try out)
Thanks again.

Just for the record, the Parasound UK distributor/repairer is Connected Distribution, based in Cheltenham.

[Arkless Electronics]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The Avondale amp, am I correct in thinking this is based on the Naim Nap 250 olive series, it is an interesting amp but I was told the olive series Naims should not be matched with a wide bandwidth pre-amp, would the Avondale also have this restriction? Quad Artera, I must confess I'd never heard of this amp, I will investigate further. Parasound A21, this was on my shortlist but I discounted it due to it's non British origins (who would fix it if it broke), It's a bit dear and it's quite large and heavy to put it mildly. In answer to the A5 question, no, I stupidly never tried mixing the MFs and Densens, seems obvious now but for some reason I never did it. I'm a bit confused regarding the Meridian 557, there are plenty of pictures on the internet of the rear panel which shows "Min 8 ohms" between the normal speaker terminals and "Min 16 ohms" across the bridged mode terminals, likewise there are plenty of pictures of back panels not stating this! So which is it I wonder, are there two different versions out there?
Anyway, Densen have come back to me saying they hope to get the amp back off to me by the end of next week, perhaps I'll wait until I have it back and see how I feel. (That Avondale is tempting at that price though, even just to try out)
Thanks again.

The Meridian will drive 4R all day long and have no problems with 2.
You do not need to send amps back to their manufacturer to have them repaired!! There are plenty of good engineers here in the UK who can do the job fine, myself included.

[monkey.nut]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The Avondale amp, am I correct in thinking this is based on the Naim Nap 250 olive series, it is an interesting amp but I was told the olive series Naims should not be matched with a wide bandwidth pre-amp, would the Avondale also have this restriction? Quad Artera, I must confess I'd never heard of this amp, I will investigate further. Parasound A21, this was on my shortlist but I discounted it due to it's non British origins (who would fix it if it broke), It's a bit dear and it's quite large and heavy to put it mildly. In answer to the A5 question, no, I stupidly never tried mixing the MFs and Densens, seems obvious now but for some reason I never did it. I'm a bit confused regarding the Meridian 557, there are plenty of pictures on the internet of the rear panel which shows "Min 8 ohms" between the normal speaker terminals and "Min 16 ohms" across the bridged mode terminals, likewise there are plenty of pictures of back panels not stating this! So which is it I wonder, are there two different versions out there?
Anyway, Densen have come back to me saying they hope to get the amp back off to me by the end of next week, perhaps I'll wait until I have it back and see how I feel. (That Avondale is tempting at that price though, even just to try out)
Thanks again.

I guess you are looking at the wrong amp. Here is the Meridian 557 manual https://www.meridian-audio.com/media...user-guide.pdf

TTFN,

MN

[Sonata8068]

OK guys! I'm convinced, the 557 is in the mix. I haven't heard the 557 though have had several very pleasing sessions with a G57 albeit not with my system, anyone compared the two? There are so many possibilities I'm going to have to think long and hard about this. Kenneth at Densen has said he will see what he can do to make the amplifier "stand up" have no idea what he means but it might be worthwhile waiting to see before I do anything. Noted that there is a Parasound dealer/repairer in the UK which just adds to my quandary as it puts the A21 back in the mix also. I had considered this amp a while back and had checked with Stands Unique (before they ceased trading) if my rack would take the weight, they said it would but it was at the upper limit (6mm glass) so the Meridian 559 would present me with a problem, so attractive as it is, it has to be an outside bet now (though frustratingly enough, I think the 559 would be my first choice if it wasn't so heavy, and I could find one within my budget). Anyway, thanks everyone for the opinions, suggestions and info.
Cheers, Brian.

[walpurgis]

Just get a beefy Quad, sit back and enjoy the music, it will sound very nice and you can relax in the knowledge that it'll be reliable and there's great customer service in the UK should you need it. Quads suit Dynaudio speakers anyway. Dynaudios show up inadequate amps mercilessly.

By the way, I don't use Quad and my power amp has just packed up tonight!

[macvisual]

Can't go wrong with a Quad.

Your SO right Dave, my recent Quad 303 power-amp purchase is simply amazing value for the money....!! I'm gobsmacked.

Over the past month I've borrowed a few lovely amps, Tube Technology Unisis (£1250), and an expensive pair of Trigon TRE-50 mono-blocks (£2500 used price) and the Quad 303 (to my ears) is far superior and cost me £150 locally from a lovely chap via Gumtree!