A few months ago, I put together my first true audiophile system. I spent a pretty good deal of money on it, eventually settling on PSB Image T6 speakers, a Benchmark DAC1, and a Hafler XL-280 amplifier. The other day, this amplifier broke down (luckily it was under warranty), so now I'm looking for something else. The problem is, I really have no clue what to look for. There were lot's of DAC reviews and clear winners in price ranges it seemed like (and trial periods), and speakers are easy to try for yourself, but for power amplifiers I can find very few reviews and too expensive units are the only ones available at stores usually (in fact they don't seem to carry any power amplifiers at all). Could anyone here make any suggestions that are close to or under $500? The Hafler was decent but underwhelming compared to the integrated amp used to demo the PSBs at the store.
A few months ago, I put together my first true audiophile system. I spent a pretty good deal of money on it, eventually settling on PSB Image T6 speakers, a Benchmark DAC1, and a Hafler XL-280 amplifier. The other day, this amplifier broke down (luckily it was under warranty), so now I'm looking for something else. The problem is, I really have no clue what to look for. There were lot's of DAC reviews and clear winners in price ranges it seemed like (and trial periods), and speakers are easy to try for yourself, but for power amplifiers I can find very few reviews and too expensive units are the only ones available at stores usually (in fact they don't seem to carry any power amplifiers at all). Could anyone here make any suggestions that are close to or under $500? The Hafler was decent but underwhelming compared to the integrated amp used to demo the PSBs at the store.