You've mentioned some nice amps, but here are some more examples:

Anatek - http://www.anatek-audio.co.uk/

Bluenote stereoid Signature - http://www.bluenote.it/

Lavardin IS - http://www.lavardin.com/lavardin-indexE.html

This is quite a price spread so you will have many options. The Creek is class a 'Phile so it would be hard to go wrong. I would also audition the Jolida 202 and the 302 tube amps if you can. For $2K you could own the 202 amp and their JD 100 tube CD player and you would NOT be dissappointed and could start the "tube rolling" for changing the flavor at will. I would also look at the Unison Unico hybrid which also sound great and has an optional phono board. Musical Fidelity has some good gear in this range as well. You could also look at the Creek OBH passive vol control/input selector with remote for few hundred bucks and then buy a basic amp that sounds to your liking. You can do very nice things with this amount of money. www.jolida.com www.underwoodhifi.com for well thoughtout modded units.

Hi everybody,

My vote is for Densen Beat B100

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/todd15.htm

www.densen.dk

Now, this model is discontinued. The new B110 coming soon.

Have the slam of Naim, but with a tonal balance more accurate. Very fun!!

best

gizmo

A new or used Pathos Classic One is my recommendation.A very fine amp.

I'd have to second or third the suggestion for the Creek 5350SE . I own a Creek 5350R intergrated amplifer, which is indentical to the 5350SE but with a lower output and an inferior power supply, but it sounds quite fantastic nontheless! I also auditioned the 5350SE, but for the other kit i currently run, the difference between the 5350SE and 5350R was maginal.

Not too certain about the NAD. It's been a while since i heard a NAD product. But certainly in terms of brand name 'class', NAD is somewhat inferior to the others. But the amplifier itself may be excellent nontheless.

Is there a difference in sound in the above mentioned amplifiers or is the differences limited to degree of flexibility of the pre-amp and quality of internal parts (expected reliabaility). If this is a ignorant question please forgive. There doesn't appear to be a dedicated place on the site for us neophyte audio enthusiasts to ask beginners questions concerning high-quality sound equipment.

I vote for the Creek as well, also Exposure's 2010 made some good music. The rega mira is also a good integrated. I hear cyrus makes some good ones as well, though I haven't heard one indepth. Anyone check out Cyrus???

I would recommend Quad 909 in the lower range and Pathos Classic One in the higher.

"You could also look at the Creek OBH passive vol control/input selector with remote for few hundred bucks and then buy a basic amp that sounds to your liking."

For those of us who do not need the features of a pre-amp, this is a really cool way to taste champagne on a beer budget.

I vote for AVI LSI

Marvelous!!!

What speakers?

What size space?

What listening levels?

Active crossovers are un needed in small residentail room settings, they use active crossovers when large arena or space (large, not a home living room) and the speakers are in totally different acoustic areas. so to make the speakers sound right. Active cross overs for home use is a waste of money, not needed, just bi-amp with teh split terminal on most top end speakers

Going active will almost completely eliminate crossover distortion as well as phase issues created by passive units.
It's a matter of preference in the end,
-->grub

Grub hit the nail on the head...

In that price range there are a myriad of options new/used. For my purposes, I'd look at a used Conrad Johnson MV60. If you ask 100 different people you will get 100 different answers....Go out and listen to as many as you can, decide what sound you prefer and go from there.

BDT

Quote:
Active crossovers are un needed in small residentail room settings, they use active crossovers when large arena or space (large, not a home living room) and the speakers are in totally different acoustic areas. so to make the speakers sound right. Active cross overs for home use is a waste of money, not needed, just bi-amp with teh split terminal on most top end speakers

For me, this couldn't be farther from the truth. I just went tri-amp (modified the speakers myself) crossing over at 70 and 700 Hz (there is still an internal x-over at 3 KHz). The difference is astounding. At first, I wasn't even sure that I liked it. But as soon as I noticed the transients I was convinced. Mickey Hart's "Planet Drum". Boy do I wish that were available on SACD.

Incidentally the amps I'm using are old DH-220's. it's very hard to do better for the price. For this price range, you can buy three, and a crossover. As a bonus you won't have to heat your house.

Pt