Its been a while since i opened this thread, and i just thought i'd let you know since i have bought an amp (finally!)
I auditioned amps like the YBA INTEGRE DT, SONUS FABER MUSICA, AUDIO REFINEMENT (dont remember which), the USHER combo, some local expert valve amps.
I ended up with Cary SLI-80, and here is why:
- The sound is great. The SLI and the MUSICA were the best sounding to my ears, followed closely by the Integre. However both the YBA and the S/F come with no remote, no headphone output and are not as powerful as the Cary.
- Extremely easy to live with (remote + headphone output).
- Has a terrific cd to match, the 308T, which i also purchased.
Quite frankly i was so disappointed by not finding a match for my S/F's that i was about to sell them, but no more!
Right now i feel i have a system i can live with, a system that can play all of the records i put in (right now its sufjan stevens' "illinoise"), its aesthetically pleasing and if i want to fiddle with it i might as well look on the net for different tubes.