Within your budget the Hegel H90 is a great choice. It will give you great amplification, DAC and Ethernet input for your streaming as well. We pair the Dynaudio Special Forty with its big brother the Hegel H190 and the pairing is spectacular, in my opinion. The latest Dynaudio speakers aren't as hard to drive as in the past. I haven't tried the Special Forty with the H90 yet, but the H90 does a great job in driving the Dynaudio Emit M20. I imagine it should have no problem with the Excite X18 or Special Forty.
Best sounding compact integrated amp < $2k?
I am putting together a 2nd system that will be used in my living room. Music source will primarily be Tidal. Haven't finalized my speaker selection - but I may end up going with something from Dynaudio - perhaps the Excite X18 or the Special 40. Streaming will be handled by one of the following: Bluesound Node 2, outboard DAC/streamer or DAC/streamer onboard the amp.
Need to figure out what integrated amp would work best. A major constraint is that the enclosure that will house the amp has a maximum depth of 15 inches - so the amp itself will need to have a depth that is a couple of inches short of 15 (to leave room for rear cables/connections).
I have tried the Naim Uniti Atom and it is certainly a potential solution (sounds great too), but I am hesitant to go with an all-in-one solution (a separate streamer allows me to upgrade that part of the system as technology progresses).
The Peachtree Nova 150 is another option - but I have not yet had an opportunity to audition it.
My budget for the amp is $2k, but I am willing to stretch the $$$ for an outstanding component :) I am also open to picking up a pre-owned amp, though I would prefer to buy new.
Suggestions will be *greatly* appreciated!
Need to figure out what integrated amp would work best. A major constraint is that the enclosure that will house the amp has a maximum depth of 15 inches - so the amp itself will need to have a depth that is a couple of inches short of 15 (to leave room for rear cables/connections).
I have tried the Naim Uniti Atom and it is certainly a potential solution (sounds great too), but I am hesitant to go with an all-in-one solution (a separate streamer allows me to upgrade that part of the system as technology progresses).
The Peachtree Nova 150 is another option - but I have not yet had an opportunity to audition it.
My budget for the amp is $2k, but I am willing to stretch the $$$ for an outstanding component :) I am also open to picking up a pre-owned amp, though I would prefer to buy new.
Suggestions will be *greatly* appreciated!