Best integrated up to $6000


Mostly listen to jazz tríos, quartets, acoustic music ( piano and guitar) and vocals. Thank you for your advice!
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A VTL Integrated is sounding good to me these days, driving a pair of Vandersteen Treo CT floor-standers. It replaced a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum which cost half as much ($2,500 vs $5000
Probably my Resolution Audio C50. Something inherently correct about this nimble but slightly light sounding S.S. Gets the fundamentals right, very smooth with no S.S. artifacts. 
I recently purchased a used Mark Levinson No 585 for under $5500. You can’t go wrong with ML gear.
That ML 585 is a superb integrated. There are some new ML 5000 series models that a tiny bit over $6K new.
Always overlooked and a complete underdog that few know about in this category - particularly if you’re into vinyl:

Anthem STR Integrated $4500;

200w x 2 into 8ohm, 400w x 2 into 4 ohm, and 550w x 2 into 2 ohm. Anthem Room Correction (can be turned on or off), Direct Analog Bypass, MM & MC Phono Stage with adjustable Rumble Filter/RIAA Curves 10Hz - 60Hz with Presets built in for Columbia, Capitol Records, and several others if you have a big pre-1975 album collection of a particular label - Can make "Virtual Inputs" and can assign the RIAA presets to an MM or MC virtual input created (up to 30 total). Do you want Room Correction engaged? Turn it on in an input. Don’t want it, turn it off in another input. Want subs to play with the system or not, assign them in the input. Tons of flexibility no other Integrated has and exceptional sound along with it.

Built-in DAC’s with Asynchronous USB which processes 32 bit 384kHz and 32 bit 192kHz on all other digital and analog connections.

Surround pass through and the ability to run two subs in stereo or mono where you can use Anthem Room Correction on those as well.

New ARC Genesis coming at the end of this month - first of next month - posted on the website. Please check it out at anthemav.com The Anthem requires about 300 hours of break-in on the preamp, and amp section, and per input for best sonic results.

The great thing is, the Integrated doesn’t know, or care, what type of music you’re playing - if the recording’s good, you’ll hear it. If the recording’s bad, you’ll hear that too.

I’ll be happy to set this right next to a Levinson 585 any time to compare and you can tell me how great the Anthem is for $7500 less - If the 585 was really worth $12k, they would sell for $12k and the used market wouldn’t be saturated with them selling so cheap - makes you question where the value is there...? I sold Levinson for a long time, so forgive me, I’m not trying to disparage that brand in any way, they make very fine equipment.

Thank you for reading.
I had a Primaluna Dialogue HP with KT150's and Nos Amperex and Tungsgram tubes for a few years. The Line Magnetic 805ia with stock tubes killed it. I didn’t even need to A/B them. The HP is powerful, but the Line Magnetic, at half the rated power, is more powerful. The biggest difference is of course the sound. The Primaluna was detailed and surgically precise, but metallic, cold, and unrefined. The Line Magnetic is warm, full, rounded and the sound just blooms. It’s the difference between florescent lighting of the office and the softer warmer lighting of a home. Mind you I listen to classical and acoustic jazz, the Primaluna might be what you are looking for if into pop or rock music.
Yes, LM805ia is in a whole other league than the PL amps. As you say, it's so obviously beyond the realm of A/B comparisons. It definitely gets my vote for best integrated under $6000.

Silverlakejim,

Not at all surprised by your listening impressions of the two amplifiers. One is a solid/competent class AB push pull design utilizing indirectly heated pentode tubes. The other is pure class A, simple SET circuit utilizing directly heated tubes (DHT) with natural and emotionally involving palpable sound. Two different levels of amplifiers.

Charles

Agree with Silverlakejim, had a Prima luna dialogue premium, and even with KT-150, the LM 518 is in a different place sonically,especially with very efficient speaker like rethm maarga...👌
@ freesole,
I don't find your preference hard to understand. I'd say you have good ears😊.
Charles