Amp upgrade time - £250 power (not integrated)

Well after having a good think (anything but revising for exams ) I've decided to sell some stuff on and upgrade my Quad 306 power amp.
So, the background:
Main source - Ariston Q deck, soon to be Lenco GL75
Speakers - Tannoy 15" Monitor Golds, 250L BR cabs
Music - Mainly rock, little bit of country, classical and blues
Room - 4 x 8 m (guessing now), hardwood floor + small rug, lots furniture
Budget - up to £250

I want a power amp becuase am planning to build this sometime soon http://sound.westhost.com/project88.htm
So what are the the likely contenders? I've done a bit of searching around, but it's a kind of hard question to pin down in a search. But what about:

Audiolab 8000P
Quad 606
Quad 520
More suggestions

I'd like to stick SS, as this is where my limited experience lies, and like the control of the bottom end (not a dig, just not trying to start a tube v SS war).

Of course, goes without saying I want 2nd hand, so demos pretty much out.
Love to hear some thoughts

 

I like the Quad 77 power amp which can be bought for about 230 pounds. It gives about 90W per side, quite a bit more than the 306, with a warm sound and solid bass. It is virtually the same as the current 99 power amp.

The Quad 606 is also a good amp for about 250 to 300 pounds.

The Arcam A85 power amp is also very nice, plenty of power (about 85W) and nice warm sound.

Have a look at the internet auction and hififorsale, there are plenty of choices and I hope you will find one you like. Good luck.

 

hmm, so how come the 606 is worth more than the 77, it's an older model isn't it? How would they compare?
Not sure if I'm a fan of Arcam, admittedly haven't heard one, but they look tacky and I always here they're very warm. Don't too warm...
Haven't come across hififorsale, will check it out. Thanks

 

Monarchy SM70?

 

are the Monarchys really in my price range? Also would I need to have a pair of them in mono, the room is on the large side and not sure if 25W would be enough considering the size of the woofers...

 

Id be looking for a big class A rotel or Nad.

 

dind't know those two did class A. Which models?

 

I paid £280 for mine

You might be surprised.

I too am not aware of any class A NAD or Rotel power amps.

 

I don't know if you can get any of Alesis studio amps but they are great value for money IMHO. I've recently heard one with Dynaudio passive monitors at a friends' home studio. It would give a big run for money to many $$$$$ audiophool setups.

 

The big class A Japanese amps I can think of are those Marantz ones, and they're hellishly expensive if they work properly...

 

Ok so suggetsions so far:
Monarch Audio SM70
Alesis
Arcam P85
Quad 606, 520 or 77
Audiolab 8000P

If I had the pick of them all, which one should I go for? And are there any other places to try bar ebay, and forum classifieds?

 

I may well have been wrong..

I always thought the RB1050 and RB1070 we're (at least part) class 'A' because of all the heat sinks all over them..

They certainly go in budget -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rotel-RB-1050...9QQihZ012QQcategoryZ14973QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

even if they're not class a, they're always getting good reviews. But would they be refined, detailed enough?

 

You have an RB971. Try it. The 1050 is basically the same amplifier with minor tweaks.

 

25wpc would be plenty for those Monitor Golds I would have thought, I stick 25wpc into my 12" Golds and if I went past 12 o'clock I think my house would fall down (OK, slight exaggeration), or else my neighbours would lynch me. Lots of people use ultra-low powered valve amps with those Tannoys with apparently good results.

You might be lucky and find an older Sugden A21a power amp 2nd hand for a little over your budget - I saw one go on ebay for £325 a while back, pure class A loveliness.

 

Yes I would love Sugden, I didn't know they did power amps. Would a Monarch Audio SM70 be in the same league? What about an MF A1? Or the Exposure super VIII (not class A, but not a monster at 55w/c, with good current driving abilities)

 

I was looking at the Sugdens before I went for the Monarchy. I preferred some of the engineering decisions made in the design of the monarchy, and they tend to be available more cheaply.

 

Did you listen to them both? If so how did they compare?

 

yes please tell

 

I did not do any sort of A-B comparison. I heard sugden kit at the manchester show with speakers I'm not a fan of, and I bought the monarchy without hearing it first. Based on what I heard at the show I thought the sugdens were nice and was going to bid on a pair of Symmetra monos on ebay, but the auction was pulled. I looked then at the A21aP, but the monarchy seemed on paper to offer more (ie bridge mode) with some nicer engineering, similar power in a more compact case.