Price Paid:  $1999.00 from Myer-Emco - Washingt

Summary:
One of the best multi-channel amp workhorses on the market. The Sonance 1250 (and 1230) both provide very reliable amplification of distributed audio environments.

As I am a A/V installer and high end programmer, I have had the chance to see over 30 of these amplifiers installed. Not one has ever had a single bad channel or bad product out of the box. Once a channel went bad and Sonance quickly repaired the product under warranty and the problem never came back. If paying an installer $75.00 an hour to fix a product, it is important to understand how costly an unreliable amplifier may be. As well, you just want the speakers throughout your home and outdoors to work well, so why settle for less?

Price of course would be the reason to settle for less, but since the amp is most definitely available for less than $2000.00 you could easily spend more if you wanted to on much less of an amp. The Rotel RMB-1048 is an excellent alternative with less power and no rack mount option though. It also may not give you the same reliability that this amp will. Definitely you want to put this unit on your short list for home audio distribution.

Strengths:
Very, very reliable amplifier.
Rack mount version available to those putting their amp into a rack.
Lots of power with 1250 - I have hooked 3 speakers up to a single channel with zero problems encountered.
Bridgeable, audio lift, individual output levels - the works all make it excellent.
Amplifier comes on almost instantly when triggered. No waiting 5-10 seconds for the amp to warm up before you hear music.
Did I mention how reliable this unit is?

Weaknesses:
Rack mount option must be ordered with amp, you can't just attach rack ears to the amp after purchase.
Speaker connections in the back are tightly spaced, so banana plugs are pretty much a requirement.
Other rear panel controls are small and hard to reach, so adjustments are more difficult. But, no switch can be really be hit by mistake either after adjustments are made.

Similar Products Used:
Adcom 12 channel amps (stopped using due to reliablity issues)
Rotel RMB-1048 (excellent as well)
Crestron 1660 (also excellent but $$$)