I went through valve amps, SS amps etc. and did a ton of A-B comparisons with my Wife and Daughter. They have bat ears and will notice even subtle changes in a system. Plus they knew/understood zero about the hardware. No hardware bias. And after testing much more expensive and highly recommended hardware, I was shocked that the clear winner was the Lyngdorf 2170. Had a tough time sending back the LTA hardware. It was so cool looking! Alas... So I put my money where our opinions were and purchased a 2170. It does remarkable things with both digital and analog signal paths. The best digital sound I’ve ever heard with some fairly expensive hardware upstream. But I wasn’t expecting the Analog to be so good. I feed it from a Feikert Turntable/Origin Live arm/Hanna SL cart/Whest two.2 phono pre. Now if you like the "tube sound" it may not be for you. But if you want the amp to disappear in your signal path, it will do that. It will also disappear in you room. It is a small amp if you’re not to the big house stage in your life yet.
The 2170 is closer to the $4K range in price but if you consider it includes an excellent D/A converter internally, and very effective room correction system, it may be more attractive. You can get them for less from some dealers. PM me if interested and I can give you a good source.
The 2170 is closer to the $4K range in price but if you consider it includes an excellent D/A converter internally, and very effective room correction system, it may be more attractive. You can get them for less from some dealers. PM me if interested and I can give you a good source.