For the money the Echo is probably the best bet in a new reel.

All current Lamsons have the same guts... and they are very good guts.

They would be my top two choices.

I have smoked a TON of reels on big fish. I have a lot of different brands and have used about every brand out there. I have somewhere around 35 Hardy reels, for example.

Ross is a brand I simply refuse to use again, for anything. Their old models are far better than their new, but only "good".

SA, Hardy-made Orvis, and SA-made Orvis are good for the money. The SA is really heavy for the size, IME.

Sage reels are not up to the level of their rods... I use several of them, but not where big fish are possible.