ZZyzx, I think that the sales man was secretly trying to sell you a very pricy McIntosh amp. I would be very surprised if it was the amp that made the difference between speakers clarity at low volumes. Usually the reason for higher priced amps is how they behave at higher volumes relating to available headroom and quality of components inside..

I have nothing against McIntosh or Adcom or most other amplifier manufactures. Many people on this forum believe that all amps sound the same and the only reason to spend more on one than the other is aesthetics and build quality. I tend do be one of those people. Although I have never done an A B test between a $500 and $4000 2 channel amp, I have done many tests of amps all under the $2000 mark, and to my ears, they all sounded the same.

I have owned Rotel amps and have been very happy with them and would recommend them to anyone. Not because they sound better, but because they are built very well and pay a lot of attention to the power supply.

When shopping for an amp, keep asking the questions about power supply. This is the engine of the amplifier. If the sales person doesn’t want to talk about a company’s power supply, that should be a red flag.

paul

paul

Axiom M80, VP180, Qs8, EP500
Epson 3020
Rotel RB-880
Denon AVR-990