Best integrated/power amplifier under $6000
I haven’t heard the Krell, but it got soundly beaten in a head to head shootout against a Hegel 390 and I think a Levinson in a recent review. The Hegel won. This despite the Krell and Levinson costing thousands more. I don’t have an opinion on it. I will say the Krell inbuilt fans would give me pause, perhaps. Annoying enough when my laptop fan kicks in .... sorry I don’t remember where I read the shootout article. What I remember tho was the reviewer saying Hegel wins on sound quality regardless of price. That it costs much less was an added bonus. Take such reviews with as many grains of salt as you prefer I suppose. As I recall it didn’t go into a ton of depth with the comparisons. edit: found it, here it is - HiFiCritic mag https://www.hegel.com/images/reviews/H390hificriticuk.pdf |
The latest Krell integrated is probably the best balanced sounding integrated under $10 k out there, their recently discontinued Vanguard is similar is many ways ,the Vangaurd has 50 more wpc, the same class A amplifier section the sliding Ibias that goes up to around 80wpc into pure class A then transitions in part to class AB I was told ,the new integrated over 90 wpc into pure class A and has a preamp out ,the Vanguard does not .i run subs ,Crutchfield makes a great little adapter board where you can plug your rca into sub and just run 4 wires to adapter, then spade or bananas to speaker terminals then run your subs for $50 and no down side. The Vangard was $6k ,$7200 with the digital board and hdmi,inputs and out ,plus spdif and optical , I picked one up loaded 2 years old like new for $2k delivered ,it sounds excellent ,and I have had many excellent $$ amps as good or better then any $10 k amp preampIn my system. |
REGA OSIRIS PRE-OWNED FOR SALE CURRENTLY IN TORONTO At dealer http://www.audioeden.com/useddemo-gear-2/4525867701 $CAN 5600 = $USD 4166 |
yyzsantabarbara, the Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier did not ever sound different from new out the box to 600 hrs, the Krell continues to get better from new to 300hrs and continues burn in , the Krell kills the Luxman with uncanny clarity, mid range, sound stage size and depth, bass, and does not distort at loud volumes as the Luxman gave out at large volumes with distortion, the k 300I best suit is clarity without losing musicality, and the sound is not warm, rather in between warm and cold, the other mention here is I don't get listener fatigue with the Krell like I do with Luxman, the Rega osiris was a nice sound but didn't have the treble detail or the clarity as the Krell, however, the Rega sounded better than the Luxman, reget selling the Rega, didn't need two integrateds, cheers. |
audiotroy, I did not get the Krell with the digital board, I have a digital board in the ps audio direct stream memory dac and matching transport with up graded snow mass soft ware, the Krell and everything else has dedicated lines with furutech gtx-Rhodium d outlets, and $8,000.00 a cord Tara Lab's cobalt reference power cord's , all mated with Tara Lab's muse speaker cable's and balanced interconnect's, with magico q3 speaker's, also jbl L1 book shelf speaker's, I switch back and forth between the speaker's . |
Parasound Halo JC 5 Stereo Power Amplifier around $6000 https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PAHAJC5 Kinki Studio EX-B7 monoblocks around $3400 https://www.mikepowellaudio.com/shop/kinki-studio-ex-b7-solid-state-monoblock-power-amplifiers NAD C 275BEE power amp around $1300 https://www.crutchfield.com/S-eRk8yhYMPti/p_745C275BEE/NAD-C-275BEE.html |
@audiolabyrinth Interesting comments on the Luxman 509x. I auditioned this integrated recently with a Luxman DAC + TAD ME1 speakers and I would not categorize the sound I heard as you described. I switched over to the Luxman separates and it was significantly better than the 509x but the 509x was rather good. Your Krell 300i is getting some love at the Munich show. I might need to have a listen to this new Krell XD designs before I lay down the dollars for the Luxman m900u amp I plan on buying. https://www.stereophile.com/content/krell-k-300i-integrated-amplifier-sonus-faber-olympica-iii-loudspeakers-zensati-cabling |
Audiolabyrinth, Thank you for your post, we knew the K300i is special just didn't know that is better than the Luxman. The K300i is so musical and we love the new sound of Krell being so much more organic and flowing then their earlier products It is really nice to know that other people are hearing what we are hearing. Did you get yours with the digital board? Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ Krell dealers |
I just sold the Rega osiris integrated amplifier, just sold the Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier, just got the Krell k 300I integrated amplifier, the Krell is a lot better than both with only 300 hrs of break in, still getting better, to me Luxman sxxxx!, hi fi sounding to say the least, treble is exaggerated, and is un realistically to resessed in the sound stage! |
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I own both the Hegel H160 and after owning and loving the HD30 DAC, I opted to buy the H590. Superb amplifier, excellent DAC, and a streaming feature which works with Airplay as well as many streaming services. Many audiophiles poo poo Airplay, but the Hegel units work exceptionally well with Airplay, locking up in a few seconds and staying locked. Hegel also works with Aurdirvana, which is about as good as legacy 44.1/16 will sound. After decades of separates, Krell, McIntosh, Classe, etc, trade in all those expensive cables for one simple elegant box that does everything but phono inputs. Hegel is better known in other parts of the world, but is working hard to change that. It is a spectacular value. |
Check out the Audio Research VSI75. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9b279-audio-research-vsi-75-silver-unit-tube?creative=305983658...= |
Plinius Huatonga is a fantastic amp. Sound is more open than many in its price range. Almost tube like in its spaciousness with great bass. Neither dark nor sterile, so it works well with many other components. Retail is $6K but you could likely find one for less. Its big brother the Hiato is awesome. They go used for around $6K but offer 300 wpc in a very clean delivery. Check out the reviews. |
The Krell K-300i is without question an integrated amp in a class of its own. I can attest to that as I heard it in a demo and it prompted me to purchase the 2 channel Duo 300 Krell as they share the same architecture. It is SUBLIME. Now, it’s a grand over your budget but you CAN get deals. In hi Hi-Fi Heaven is great to work with and accepts trade ins. |
Okay lets get some input data. We know you have headphones, what is the source you are using? You mentioned just a power amp so what would the rest of the components be? If you like Ribbons you lean towards cleaner clearer sound correct? Which dac with volume are use using and what speakers would you also be interested in? Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ |
There is a used Levinson 585 out there now at usam for 6k. Killer DAC built in, I’m currently using the 585 myself (not mine for sale), would be fun to compare yours to it. It’s awesome, 12k MSRP. Doesn’t have a phono section (that’s the 585.5). It’s universally praised in reviews, and my 2 weeks with one I’ve been very, very pleased. Pretty flexible also, all sorts of ways to configure it. Edit - just saw you are using headphones (I'm not a headphones listener). It does not have a headphone jack. |
Im going to be using the RAAL SR1a headphones that need a minimum of 100w into 8 ohms to shine. they were tuned on the Benchmark AHB2 so that would seem like an obvious choice but considering other options as well (and a bit more power/headroom so I mentioned 150WPC - but I could also run Benchmark AHB2 monoblocks) Having heard the Parasound A21, I don't really like the sound by Parasound much. Other amps that Im considering are: -Chord CPM2650 -Anthem STR |
Some people love Boulder others find the sound too sterile. May want to check out this unit. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9d497-boulder-865-integrated-solid-state |
REGA OSIRIS integrated (pre-owned) highly recommended ... http://audiofi.net/2012/08/rega-osiris-punching-heavy/ https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/amplifiers/rega-isis-and-osiris-66135... http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/rega-isis-cd-player-osiris-integrated-amplifier-tas-213/ http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rega-isis-osiris-hifi-plus-72/ |
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