Good stereo amp for HT setup. . .

[Demetrio]

Which power amp would you buy to drive your main front speakers in a home theater set up used most of the time for music in normal stereo?

Some models I am considering for such purpose:

* Bryston 3B-SST
* Classé CA-150
* Proceed Amp 2

Any other stereo amp in the same price range worth considering?

Thanks in advance,
Demetrio.

[poneal]

Why spend so much money on an amp? Amps are overpriced and I doubt that you'll hear a radical difference in sound. If you must then any of the ones you listed are fine. I think a Hafler or Alesis studio amp would sound just as good. Just my opinion.

[RGA]

Which power amp would you buy to drive your main front speakers in a home theater set up used most of the time for music in normal stereo?

Some models I am considering for such purpose:

* Bryston 3B-SST
* Classé CA-150
* Proceed Amp 2

Any other stereo amp in the same price range worth considering?

Thanks in advance,
Demetrio.

It is tough to tell because it depends on the speakers. The other poster made a good point that some cheaper options may be every bit as good with some speakers in some rooms as those you list. But some speakers is not all speakers and The older Bryston 3B was astonishingly better with my very easy to drive Wharfedales in the same room and same set-up.

Bryston is a brute to some - but they are built second to none and have customer service that is second to none. They have an impecably low noise floor low distortion and solid bass control. Some systems they can sound a bit thin or overly analytical(which is a term which should not be mistaken for accurate). Music doesn't sound analytical but systems often do. On the other hand some systems have a blend where I would take Bryston pound for pound over any other power amp factoring all the non sonic issues in - like the 20 Year transferable warranty and relatively high resale value.

Classe - I personally have not found them to be my cup of tea in the systems I've heard them in. They have a lot of respect they appear well built - but I seem to like the Brystons which may sound a bit overkill but they seem to sound more fun as well.

And why not buy used. A 3 year old Bryston will still carry a 17 year warranty but you will save a lot of money. Or you could probably get a a 4BST used for less than a 3bSST. Something to consider.

IMO if you LIKE solid state sound that is deliberately doing that Solid State thing - then I can think of nothing better than Bryston for sane money. Though you should also consider a Rotel. They are not looked upon as being as high endy(Because of their prices - not their quality) but many prefer the sound of Rotel to that of Bryston.

In fact I personally think Rotel sounds very similar to Classe and if it were me I would take the Rotels - but it depends on pricing I guess. Used Rotels can be had fairly cheap and you may be able to buy two very good units for one Bryston and run the Rotels as mono-blocks.

I'm unfamiliar with Proceed amplifiers.

[topspeed]

As RGA noted, it really depends on what you're driving and what you like. There are a lot of amps available for that pile of cookies. Will you consider tubes? How about hybrids? What are you trying to achieve? You're aware that Proceed is no longer in business so does that affect your purchasing decision?

[Mr Peabody]

Actually, there are several good amps in that price range, might I mention Krell, since, after all, that's what I use. The point I would mention while considering price, is what will your front end or processor be. If you buy a Bryston, for instance, it isn't going to sound like a Bryston being fed off somebody's receiver. It will slam way better than the receiver's internal amp but it will still not be close to it's potential.