Gene, thank you so much for taking the time to do these videos when you’ve recently been sick with coronavirus. If you’re not feeling well in this video we’d never know it! You’ve been in our thoughts and prayers daily! We hope you’re fully recovered very soon! God Bless you! Kevin Turpin

Thanks for sharing Gene! Hope you’re feeling better.

Thanks again Gene for toughing it out and carrying on, you look good man! On topic, I have the Emo XPR-2 for my mains and I absolutely LOVE it. Based on Audioholics' recommendation in the past I run an Oppo BD-105 directly from the pre-outs into my amps and it sounds sublime. Keep up the great work!

So happy to see you back at it again. You must be so relieved to have that behind you now. Just a few months ago I purchased the Anthem STR Integrated amp. Overall I'm very happy with it. However, I am interested in your experience with the XLR inputs. Maybe it's different with the Anthem separates, but I learned that on the STR the balanced inputs are not truly balanced. Initially I was using the RCA inputs. When I tried the XLR inputs (source is a Denafrips DAC) I noticed that the soundstage had collapsed somewhat. A noticeable decrease in the depth of the sound. I emailed Anthem support and they confirmed my suspicion that the XLR inputs are converted to single ended so they could perform correction on the signal. I still really like the amp, but I am sticking with RCA as the source input.

Before the video even starts I bet I can't afford any of these LOL

Loved this episode! Was wonderful taking a trip down memory lane.

I ordered a Parasound a51 amplifier a week ago. Glad to see it so well respected by you. I bought it without hearing it. Now I just need it to show up at my local audio store,

Subscribed - great to see you staying busy and for fighting Corona! Hang in there. I have Axiom Audio speakers. Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery!!!

Glad you're back Gene! EXCELLENT VIDEO!

Good to see Anthem, Parasound A21 included in the list. I once owned the A21. It is an amazing piece of gear. Both companies make great products.

I'm really glad! First off, I had the following Aragon 2004, Luxman M-02, Denon POA 2200 until I got a Parasound A51 matched with Parasound C1, xlr connected driving B&W Nautilus 804s, HTM1, 805s, and wow! Simply blew all my previous amps away! So much more transparency (top, mids, bottom), way more detailed, incredible punch, etc,. I've never heard previously and just continues to surprise me with great aplomb wherever there are attack passages or nuances I never new existed! So, having included both the A21 and A51 was really something I looked forward to when I saw the title! Excellent choicers! Thanks!👍👍

Common theme to listing the top 3 power amps that I have owned.. Parasound A21, A51 and now I have returned to 2 channel... The JC5..... All fantastic performers with great design and quality of manufacture, superb customer support... But the JC5 is another level in presentation altogether.... I can only imagine how much further on a pair of the new JC1+ push things!

Gene I love these nostalgic looks into our past would love to see more keep well xxx

Loved the video. My favorite amplifier right now are my Emotiva xpa-1s gen 2 but I really love my Emotiva RPA-2 as well.

Loved this presentation Gene. Hope you are feeling better. Currently I am using a Hegel h590, that I got used. Almost got the anthem but then this one came up. I was using a lyngdorf TDAI 2170. I really liked it but eventually left it because it I needed more power. Keep your doing these, they’re great. However I used to like it when you say, “welcome to the show that never ends” you need to bring that back

Hey Gene my favorite amp so far is my SAE A501 that I bought about 15 year ago from my friend in Tampa and its truly a jewel of an amp.

I'm glad you included the Parasound A21. That's my current setup.

Finally, you spoke on parasound! Thanks Gene! I love parasound!

Thanks. I totally enjoyed this video. Hearing the names of these amplifiers brought back some fun memories. From my past I still have great memories of once owning a SAE A501. What a amplifier.

After going through a few receivers, I bought a Cinepro 3K63 amp, 550 watts x 6 and paired it with the Integra Research RDC7 that you mentioned. That was in the early 2000’s and they sounded amazing together. I got the RDC7 used on Audiogon and the cinepro was a b-stock direct from the company. Because new was very expensive. I had called about a cheaper Cinepro model but it was gone so Eric, the owner, sent me the more expensive unit for the same price. Super nice and I wish he and his company were still here today. I use that same 3K63 today but pair it with the Yamaha CX-A5200. Along with my legacy audio speakers it is still a great amp.

Hi Gene Hope you doing well. Great video. Nice to see Canada represented twice in your favourites. Keep well!

Great to see you Gene. My favorite is still the RB-1090 Rotel, the Acurus A-250. Last would be the Emotiva XPA-2 after it would get recapped. My brother enjoys this amplifier to this day. But I have told him to stay on top of it. Especially the microprocessor. Funny you should mention Anthem. I have an old but still great sounding AVM-30 running in another system, and I love Anthem for their sound. Being ancient doesn't mean it sounds bad. Best hifi purchase I have ever made especially for only $175.00 bargain killer. I want an Anthem power amplifier to go with. Money is tighter these days so I have to be smarter than I used to be. Thanks for the great video Gene!

Great amp history! I still have that Integra Research amp running my home theatre. Great performance and bulletproof.

I recently picked up a used Rotel RB-1090 for 1/3rd retail, it's driving my Martin Logan Motion 20 speakers.

Currently use Parasound JC1 monoblock amps driving Martin Logan Summit X. The JC1 amps replaced a Krell FPB700CX 700W class A which is elsewhere in the system now. Biggest surprise in amps was Rotel RA 840BX2 which made a good job of the Summit electrostatic speakers. Great design and bullet proof built!

I have an ati1505 and outlaw 770. I use the ati right now to power two subs in a smaller setup. Great amps.

Hey Gene.. So awesome to see ya feeling better..

I know your situation isn't the best but videos like this are very helpful for us who are always looking for the gems on the secondhand market. Thank you!!!

My favourite amps, still in use since '86 are my Bryston 3b's. Followed by my 2b's , 3bnrb and 3bst used in my triamped stereo main system. Super reliable amps. Second favourite are my BGW model 75, 6500 proline series2 and 7500 proline series2 being used in my HT system (triamped stereo). I will never get to try out all the wonderful amps that Gene has tried because the amps I have are very reliable and well built. I cannot bring myself to replace them.

Hey guy, hope you’re doing alright! The AGI 511a preamp with the Burr-Brown mod, power supply mod and DC coupled mod is a really great preamp from back in the day. The Spectral Audio DMC 10 preamp, DMA 50 and DMA 200 were all great sounding equipment. The Sutherland Audio gear is all very quiet and highly resolving. That’s the gear I grew up with working at the store. I miss being involved in the manufacturing portion. That’s where my passion is! Be careful and keep reviewing. Like your choices and you’re right about build quality now as opposed to then. Sucks to be right sometime. There are exceptions, but few!👍🏻

I currently use Aragon Palladium 1Ks on my Sanders panels that can get down to 1 ohm. No issues at all. These have been with me for years! 400/wpc and great sound! I use Merrill Audio Thor amps (350 wpc class D) on the woofer cabinets. The sound is, quite simply, spectacular!

I had a Kenwood Basics C2 Preamp and Basics M2 amp. They were a great pair. Bought them in late 80s and they lasted me nearly 30 years. That amp was rated at about 200+ watts per channel at 8ohms. I replaced both with Emotiva seperates and kinda miss those Kenwood pieces. LoL

I had a parasound hca-855a that sounded phenomenal. I currently have an Acurus 200five made by Mondial. It sound great too, but still miss the parasound.

Really great video. Wow you've had some amazing equipment. Incredible. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a lot older than you and have older amplifiers too. I have a Soundcraftsmen Pro Power 10 that is 205 * 4 into 8 ohms, and is stable down to one ohm. The amplifier can be bridged to two or three channels. I'm using two channels to drive my mains which are ESS AMT-1Bs and the other two channels are bridged to drive a four ohm VMPS Larger Subwoofer. I've owned amplification from Audio Research Corporation, Adcom, NAD, Marantz, Harmon Kardon, SAE, Carver, Yamaha, Onkyo Integra, Kenwood, Amber, Crown and others. I really like your channel and enjoy the content and your professional reviews.

Hi Gene new sub here, just curious is this a recent video or a repost? I really appreciate you sharing your experience with the dreaded covd19 & hope for feeling better!

This is crazy! I just came on to KZfaq to look at components for a set of Apogee Divas that were given to me as a gift. You mentioned the Aragon amp that ran Apogee speakers back in the day. I have Bob Carver running them now. My question is would you do a wish list for a guy like me to make this a killer 1st system. Thanks!

My favorite amp was the Sherbourn 5005x5 it was a beast. Loved it ❤️

I am glad you have parasound In your list Gene, I got into the Parasound brand with the A21. I now have the Parasound JC 5, to me it is the best sounding amp for the money. I demoed it against the Anthem STR, the JC 5 was more músical, more dynamic, better sound stage, it smoked it! Another friend also demoed it and felt the same way with different equipment. I highly suggest you listen to the Parasound JC 5.

Planning a system with the STR separates and a pair of the Paradigm Founder Series 100Fs. So excited and so hard to wait for it to become a reality!

0:50 Aragon 8008X5 3:04 Parasound Halo A21 4:43 Integra Research RDA-7 7:59 Denon POA-A1 11:44 Classe CT-2300 14:18 Emotiva XPR-1 17:50 Anthem STR

I'm currently using Outlaw audio m2200 mono blocs to run my Magneplanar 1.7i's. I'm considering the Parasound A21.

Incredible!Excellent review.

My favourite amp was a Robertson 4010 which I owned throughout the '90s. But in the end it kept failing on me and parts were hard to find as it was somewhat rare and the company was no longer in business. I decided to get something more stable but the Robertson was magical. One recently came up for sale locally but with the reliability issues I had, I could not convince my self to buy it. Someone else did of course and posted to our local audio forum how much he loved it.

Interesting choices. I have a humble Class-D Crown XLS 1502 for 2-ch music system into an Emotiva PT-100 Preamp/Dac. Very good sounding and great value.

Totally forgot about the interga research. Had one of these in a showroom I worked in around 2005 I think... Sexy processor (motorised control flap) and power amp in the blue / silver. Deff had power, never had great set up rooms back then to truely appreciate it.

Reminds me of my amp in the early 70's...a Crown DC 300. Great video. Thanks

I would like to see your measurements for Outlaw Audio 2200 monoblocks. Running it with Parasound 200 pre amp and using Legacy Audio Studio HD. Great sound for a small near field room. Keep up the great work.

I think the McIntosh MC2500 is one of the all time great amps. I would love to hear your opinion (if you have heard it). I personally run 2 MC402 amps bridged into my Magnepan 20.1 speakers and they do a very nice job.

I second the Anthem preamp and power amp. I heard Anthem / Paradigm demoing this amp / preamp along with their flagship Persona speakers. The sound was incredible and on par with another manufacturer's $100K (just electronics, not including speakers) system being demoed at CES.

My favorite amplifier is the Sony STR-VX200 because of it's ergonomics, it's a humble 20 watts per channel A/B stereo, with a series linked option for running both A/B speakers for 4 all at once. First up, the Volume knob, isn't a knob! It's a slider! Which is pretty cool for micromilimeter fine tuning, but so are the bass treble and balance knobs, which were flush with the face other than these flat protrusions which were very easy and comfortable to pinch and turn, and they flowed smooth without any click points, except at the neutral point which softly settles into place, no rough springy feedback into the fingers, more like a fat dove falling into a pile of velvet. If that weren't enough! the faceplate has big buttons 1-9 for radio presets, and that is a luxury not to be overlooked! the ease of use, both in saving, recalling, and traveling to channels with the quartz lock technology makes modern menus feel like an SAT test. I liked to set it up in my living room very prominently so I could easily interact with the sound. I love knobs and fine controls because of the intimacy I feel with being able to reach out and touch the sound. I also found the Sony STR-VX200 to be sonically very pleasing, and particularly it had a fuller richer bass than the amplifier I subsequently got to replace it with which, was a low end Yamaha 5.1 from the future the HTR-5830, I just assumed 30 years newer and dolby surround would be an improvement in ever respect, but I didn't much like the HTR-5830, but I enjoyed Yamaha's suite of spatial effects, although I found the 5 channel stereo setting the most pleasing of all. I still have my Sony STR-VX200 and I have added several buddies that all stack with it, a Pioneer pre-amp that also has a 7-band equalizer and subsonic filter button, no ultrasonic though :/ and I also have a pro-audio Yamaha reverberator with 99 preset reverberation modes, which can be customized too. I'm frankly overwhelmed by the 99, and rarely use it, but I really like toys like that which I can use to do my own little listening experiments by changing and altering the playback. I got a Schiit Loki to add in there, but the knobs on it are disgusting! They roll smooth but they have allot of internal resistance to movement from the neutral point, and when they return to neutral they abruptly jolt into place, like a raven into a piece of cardboard, and they aren't even spaced far enough apart for me to pinch them! You cant even fit a pencil between those little knobs! let along your finger to grab one of them, it's a complete ergonomic failure, and the whole device is too small to play well with the stack. I swapped out the knobs for something a little smaller, and it improved the feel of it very much. Anyway my STR-VX200 stack has 4 1" tall stopper corks on the corners of every tier in the stack, they bear the whole load of the stack producing an air gap while also absorbing some vibration, they're solid cork, not conglomerate, cork is awesome! we should grow allot of it, and use it as insulation. Even though sorbothane would be better for vibrations, and I would acoustically isolate the amp in a special soundproof box if I was really nutty about tweaking the microphonics out of the system. The cork is primarily a spacer, and a building material passion. It is very useful, and very sustainable, I like tweaks that have some science to them, even if it is .000001% affect, I would never pay fools prices for them though. Did you know LED's are also solar panels? as in they both turn electricity into light and light into electricity, the phenomenon runs both ways! that's how I feel about microphonics and vibration dampening. If the circuits are making sound and vibration when electricity is running through them, then external sound is likely to introduce noise into those circuits, assuming the sound is of the same resonant frequency. Would be cool to see someone run an experiment with their fancy test equipment ;) to see if acoustic noise piped into an amplifier can measurably influence the noise floor. It would likely be most notable in noisy electronics, so your high end stuff is probably already damped or engineered to the point that microphonics are extremely irrelevant, but maybe not. Just don't cough while you're in there, unless you bring a wedge of lime with you lol This was too long.... but so were the 24 gauge wires I had on my Yamaha htr-5830's rear surround speakers. lol

My favourite amp which I bought recently is Pass xa30.8 together with Pass XP-12 preamp. I'm in heaven 🤩

Great job, Gene! Thanks.

Gene, just wonder if you ever came across the “Heaven forbid” Bose 1801 power amp. I got this amp along with 4 Bose 901s back in 1972 because Bose had a promotion on the amp that if you bought it and bought 2 901s they gave you another pair for free. It cost me about $1500 then but launched me into my audiophile journey. The amp was a 82 pound beast with 400wpc into the 4 ohms from the two speakers per channel. The power transformer weighed 41 pounds. The amp had huge meters and leds for monitoring peak power with a clipping indication. The bass from this setup was astounding which was both a blessing and a curse, which is why I ended up selling everything for $1500 after a couple years so I listened for free 😁 The Bose equalizer boosted the bass by 18dB at 35 Hz so even with that much power with certain songs the amp would clip, but I made the best of everything by turning the speakers around and not reflecting everything off the back wall.

Keep 'em coming, bud. Excellent.

I have a complete integra set up in storage..i did recognize when I had it set set up how quiet the set up was and clean..i used the dac on the pre for cd s and bought an onkyo record player and loved the phono on the pre no NOISE at all.... I just got a cary 7.250 hope to hear from some one on this one..... hope everyone is feeling well😁 ..we have keep moving on even if this stuff is a bit silly.. we have to keep are hope and enjoy life's pleasures... Peace...

Gene, I bet you're right that the Integra Research amp was made by ATI Amplifier Technologies. I own the Morris Kessler Signature Series ATI 6005 (300W RMS x 5 ch) and the Signature Series ATI 4006 (200W RMS x 6 ch) and as soon as I saw the back of the Integra amp in your vid, I immediately thought that it looked just like the back of my amps which were made in 2014. The Signature Series ATI amps are the best I have ever owned. If memory serves me correctly the Signature Series amps were sent to 3 national press magazines and won product of the year from all 3. They sound amazing.

I've got a couple of HK Citation 7.1 amps. Got them online when they discontinued for 750 around 04. Wish I had bought another. Absolute beast, huge current, amazing specs.

Thanks for sharing your favorites. :)

Gene, I always assumed I’d eventually upgrade my emotive amps to parasound halos, but I recently discovered D-sonic class D amps. They are highly regarded by the few pros that have reviewed them. Do you have any opinions about them? Which would you pick?

You've owned way more amps than I have. So far I've owned a Coda 11, a Levinson ML 11, a Bedini 100/100, a Perreaux 2150 and a Bryston 2b. Would like to see a review from you covering any of these. my favorite so far is the Coda 11 which I've been using for the last 20 years.

Would love to see how these classic amps compare to something like the Monolith 5X/7X

"Hi Gene, thanks for the content. Have you ever had any experience with the "PowerMaster" series of power amplifiers from Enlightened Audio Designs? if so what is your view on them? Thanks

I have always been an Adcom Guy. I had 555's and a 565 for base but settled into the 585 Gold Series for years. I thought about trying another

I have some Carver amps that rock

Hi Gene great video about the power amplifiers.. I owned currently and emotiva mps-1... 7 channel power amplifier.. Can you do a review about this amp? Its actually a great one from emotiva one of their first power amp...

I may get some stick on this one, but back in the day I had the Technics SE-A1 & SU-A2 combo... really superb!

And I'm buying a Crown XLS1502. Thank you for sharing your awesome videos...

If possible please review the Krell 750 mc. I know it's old but I've never seen one reviewed in order to see what it is really capable of. I'm currently running x2 Krell TAS in my home theater. They seem to be really solid.

Gene glad your alive.. The info you have provided has saved me big money and helps me purchase products from great companies. Keep it up I learn so much of "What not to buy.". I always thought that marketing has taken over true benchmarks and reviews. Stay safe....

Love your channel as a new member. I have just recently started using my system again. Retired and stuck at home. I am still using my Adcom GFA 5503,GFA-5800 amps, Velodyne ULD series11 for my 5 channel man cave. Apogee Centaurs and Kiplish rear channel speakers. I Have a sony STR-GX 10es receiver with a Pioneer SP99D processor. I need a new receiver or proceesor as I have no HDMI imputs. Need to play some catch up. Any suggestions. TV and Blue ray are 4K newer models.

I used to use (back when I had enough room to set up a stereo music system) a Hafler DH-110 pre-amp feeding a Hafler DH-220 amp and driving Snell Type E Series II loudspeakers - I had built the Hafler components from their kits. A couple of years ago, I sold them to a friend who was just starting to get into hi-fi. He is driving some large Klipsch speaker systems and is extremely thrilled with how they perform.

Better I hope!!!! say a word about the APC power conditioner, I have the lower model, looks the same. I added an Emotiva XPA-3

Hope you doing better bud. I’ve still got my Classe’ amps from back in the day 😎

My current system is with the PERREAUX 750P Mono Blocks from New Zealand. Can produce up to 1,300 WRMS into 4 ohms with a gain of 34dB , 700 damping factor and peak to peak voltage rail of 322volt in total , current capable of 160 amps. Class A,AB. Mosfet design. I just love them. No clipping and excellent musicality.

Thanks Gene. I still have an upgraded Acurus Act-3 SSP and I'm not sure what to do with it...I hate to just throw it away but I have no use or need for it now. Great list! I currently have an Adcom GFA-5802 amp in my system for my 2 channel audio...I want to upgrade but I want to make sure Im getting a true discernible sound upgrade. I'vve considered Parasound, Bryston, Emotiva and a few others...but cant audtion them in my system so I'm finding it to be a difficult decision. Would appreciate your thoughts...Thanks again!

Thank You for all you great information. Also I hope you recover.. ASAP... we need you knowledge.:) I am always confuse about what to get. currently I have a 5.2 set up consisting of Bowers and Wilkins 704 all around and using 2 NHT small atoms.. just to test. My receiver is an Onkyo 830. My question to you will be.. if you had $3,000 to spend? What received would you recommend? I was thinking Marantz 8012 for option 01. Denon 6500 option 02. Or separates Emotiva... not to familiar with separates but would like to explore. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank You

Gene, thanks for another great video. Would you please name the Rotel amps you have been enjoying? I'm looking to find an older model with > 150 watt into 8 ohm. For my front channels. Greetz from Germany

Hey gen.... i would suggest to test the new aragon iridium monoblocks as well the acurus muse 16 and act 4 pre-processors. They recently been doing really interesting high quality stuff, that im sure you will.love it.

I would say that class D is also the wave of the future, specifically Hypex N Core amps. So well received that other amplifier companies are licensing their technology.

Very happy with my class d ati amps!

I wish you would measure some of the "vintage" monster amps I've owned, such as the Pioneer A-858, A-91D or M-90. It would be cool to see if they still hold their own despite being 30 years old. You should be able to pick one up cheaply.

Hey Gene glad to see you're getting better, I was wondering if you ever tested the crown xls 2502 power amp?

I hope you are feeling better Gene.

i am running atoll 200se amp pre amp very nice sound for not a lot of $$$ with f85 paradigm speaker very happy :)

I purchased a Proceed AMP 2 back in 1999 and I still have it today. I had a Krell KSA-150 and a Classé CA-100 amp. They did not sound well with my Revel speakers, the Proceed amplifier sounded the best.

Gene, great selection of amps. What would you recommend as a value power amp for bi-amping the bass panel of my Magnepans (3-4 ohms) on 2 channel.. I already have subs. Current or used would be ok. Want dynamic punch but also subtleness as called for in the music. Thanks

I know I am a year late to this, but here are my amps/pre-amps. I bought the Mitsubishi line of separates way back when they were trying to get into audio separates. I have the DA-P20 Dual-Monaural pre amp and the matching DA-A15DC dual monaural amplifier, rated at 150 Watts RMS into 8 ohms both channels driven with 0.01 THD. The pre-amp was 0.005 THD, I think that is correct. My amp blew a channel and I got a BK Components, LTD. ST 202 amp. I am not sure of its rating, but is is around 130 to 150 watts RMS into 8 ohms, both channels driven. This BK sound great. I have an old pair of JBL L100 Control room monitor speakers. I purchased the Mitsubishi components and the JBLs new in the late mid 1980s. I would like to get my Mitsubishi separates serviced, but I don’t know of anyone in California who can repair vintage audio. Any ideas?

I have seen a lot of YT reviews on the Emotiva XPA gen 3 amps but we are still missing the one that matters, yours Gene. Can you please run some test and analysis on one of those units. Thanks.

Adcom has produced some excellent amps at realistic prices.

Gene, where are the XPR-2's??? They are crazy. I know yours blew up, but mine are going strong. 1000 watts per channel x2 and I have 2!

Factory Renewed XPR-5 Emotiva amplifier stacked in Laredo, Texas. Waiting for this beauty to arrive to Spain when this Coronavirus situation will finish. I´ll pay tons €/$ for shipping, but I think that the item deserves it. I fell in love with it immediately. I already have Emotiva XMC-1 & XPA-5 which is the core of my system, I can only recommend. Best Regards, stay safe, stay home.

Emotiva XPA-DR2 with XSP-1 preamp here. Nice!

HI would love it if you could review the Technic integrated amp SU G 700 which uses the GaN D class. It sounds great but little has been written but what reviews have been done are favorable anyway hoping you put it on your list.

I’d like to see how well the Parasound classic v2’s measure.

I used a Parasound HCA-2205 for over twenty years. Recently I switched to a D-Sonic 5 channel amp (m3a-2000-5) which is class D and runs much cooler than the 2205. The both do a great job driving my Aerial Acoustics speakers which have 4 ohm impedance.

Of course you must review the Vincent sp993 😁

Emotiva was happy to share schematics for the XPR-1 to a local electronics repair shop who was able to fix it. The components side are all available. This saves the high cost of shipping such ha beast which when added to the repair cost makes the amp not worth fixing for them

I have a Spectron musical MK II class D amp to drive my Maggie's. 7's This amp was designed by John Ulrich in 2005 and I'm pretty sure he invented the class D amp in the late sixties. He worked with Arnie Nudell of Infinity speakers then started his own company Spectron. This amp puts out 500watts@8ohm, 650@4ohms &1,200@ 1ohm!! But more importantly it will produce 65 amps for 500 milliseconds. All I know is it sure makes my Maggie's sing!!! I love it!!

Just got to ask Gene, would you consider the outlaw Audio model 5000 AMP one of your favorite budget amps of all time? It seems you really like that amp For what it costs. You had mentioned that it drove your status Acoustics speakers no problem. Is it safe to say that in 2-channel listening the model 5000 competes with some $1,500 power amps?