Best solid state amps for around a $1000

Thank you Austin. I knew that you would not fail to deliver a reliable comparison. What you say about the Mjolnir 2 reminds me of the Lyr I used to own, and I would agree about the less aggressive sound of the Valhalla 2, which similarly seemed less responsive to tube-rolling for me. I wonder if the blacker background and wider stage of the Mjolnir 2 is related to the fact it can accept balanced inputs from the Gungnir Multibit's balanced out, but I'm not sure on this.

 

I also noticed like 10 Luxman P1u's for sale lately dropping in price fast. It is a solid - solid state amp that I enjoy listening to and not having to futz around with. The voltage thing is not a huge deal; a $30 transformer will provide it the proper voltage.

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/773486/fs-ft-krell-ksa5

Is there a reason that Krell is not sold yet? Overpriced? Old not sexy design? Many seem to like them though. I'm looking for the most resolving amp in this price class, mating with Gungnir Multibit perhaps (I'm doing a shootout with some stuff later to decide on this..). As I'm happy tweaking my HD800 with Sonarworks, I couldn't care less about "tonality", "smoothing the 6khz peak" and that crap, just looking for maximum transparency/resolve, dynamics etc.

 

I am half tempted by that amp actually messaged Jose today for more deets, he built it and it can work in USA 117v with the proper fuse in place. The holdup for me is the ECP T3 I am itching to bust my DIY chops on.

 

#1................ it is a Krell Clone , yet even if it were a Krell, their speaker amps have a reputation and characteristic sound that some describe as bleached, soul-less, analytical and un-musical.

 

Aren't clones what everyone talks about de facto? Are there actually genuine ones available somewhere? Well anyway, I don't care about audiophile words like "musical" etc, they seem to mean random things to everyone.

For reference, Bifrost Multibit made a huge impression on me compared to all the mid-range stuff I've had. Improving on realism, dimensionality etc. I do not know if that's classified as "musicality" or just more pure "transparency", but I'm looking to improve that. Putting Vali 2 flattened everything down considerably compared to my lowly Matrix HPA-3B amp, so does that count as "unmusicality"? I'm sure someone likes smoothing things down like that, perhaps to them it's musicality.

I'd still like to find some alternative amps for my shootout, to see how much I can improve things, but not going overboard with price (and preferably desktop space) like Raggy. Perhaps Audio-GD NFB-1AMP, but it might end up similar to my Matrix.

 

A Sigma22 feeding a Krell Klone...don't be fooled by the low price because it's DIY. Most of the retail stuff in that price range can't even outperform a Starving Student, let alone something like that amp. That looks like a very nice build as well. Since he's having trouble selling it maybe you can convince him to drop the price a little, but if you're looking for value there's nothing to be worried about.

 

I'm in the minority, but I feel that the SPL Phonitor Mini is a vary damned good amp. Super neutral, detailed, and the crossfeed feature is excellent. It can drive mostly anything, even Planar's.

 

i'm guessing you would have to rewire the TX primaries for 115VAC as well, assuming it has dual primary windings?

my cost for a Klone with custom Lansing chassis, milling from FPE, custom SumR TX, and a $270 Goldpoint SA comes to just a hair under $1K...in the US. i have the original PS boards - the O22 would add around $60 or so off the top of my head. you can obviously cut costs with a cheaper chassis a pot/SA.

didn't you have a Klone in your house for a bit? i have boards and sand if you're interested.

 

Mr Sneis, if you still got your P1 I'd be all over it

Sold my P1U, already miss it.

 

Great choice. I've been staring at that for months ever since I sold my Krell KSA-5 Klone - beautiful build.

 

I actually went for used NFB-1AMP.. the Krell was SE and huuge. Would have been cool though.

 

Best solid sate amplifier I've heard under $1000 is Cavalli Liquid Carbon