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Make sure to save room in your budget for an upgrade when you get bored in the Burbs |
Store Demo ARC VSi75 with KT150 at $5500Hegel 390 at 5500Jeff Rowland Continuum at 8K
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How much power do the Wilsons require?
Looking at minimum impedance at 2.5 ohms, they may be a tough load.
I owned Ayre gear, I can highly recommend the AX5-20, Ayre has a certain clarity and sweetness that I assume carries into this integrated.
I own the Luxman. It's one of the best amps I have heard at any price. I'd highly recommend it if you can find it around that price.
The Vitus RI-100 used should be around your budget, and has the power.
The Gryphon 120 is another one to look at, but I highly doubt it'd be around the used budget. |
A lot of excellent suggestions here. I've been very happy with my McIntosh MA5300. 100 watts and an upgradable DAC. About $3900 from Audio Classics.
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No one has mentioned my VAC 160i. I have tried lots on the list. My VAC has the fully balanced option (+$1,500) and the MC/MM phono option (+$1,500). It was $12,500 out the door but I think mine’s worth about $5,500-$6,000 but without the options can be had about $5,000. I think it’s better than any tube integrated and with 87 watts, it can handle anything from super sensitive speakers (it’s very quiet) to some lower efficiency speakers as long as the impedance isn’t too low. I came from PrimaLuna and solid state before that. I haven’t seen a Luxman 509x much below $6,000 but those would be my top picks. I’ve been back n forth about buying a used Luxman, but come back to my VAC each time. |
I can't comment on any of the above, but have been in the market for an integrated in the same general price range. I may go NEW though. When I asked a Lux dealer about their integrated's for my Harbeths, he suggested the following...Class A integrated if you have a more revealing Wilson type speaker, but the 550 may not have the juice with less efficient speakers. So, there you have it...you may want to look at the 590. In my case, I am considering a class A/B unit...likely a new 507.
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I'm in this same space myself and have been considering options for at least a year. It came down pretty fast to two, and now one. I'll be getting a Raven Osprey later on this year.
It seems their entry level Nighthawk at $3k would be better at meeting your requirements than anything anyone else has mentioned. Except, as already noted, you have the Wilson problem. You could pair the Nighthawk with Tekton Double Impacts and Herron VTPH 2A phono stage, put some of the huge savings into seriously good wire, DBA, be well ahead of anything you could afford to connect to those Wilsons and still have money in the bank.
Awfully overrated, and over priced (the Rolex of speakers), but if you like em....
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ATC sia2-150 mk2.. best kept secret ? |
My 2 cents after reading some of the posts even though this is my first post. I have been looking for a SS integrated for my office that has USB digital DAC and runs cool. I own an Ayon Spirit III KT150 Class A integrated amp which is my baseline for comparison and which to me is near perfect. I purchased the mentioned Anthem STR integrated for the 30 day trial with the 20% off deal and was disappointed. It is detailed but lacks warmth and immediacy, ending up being too bright and slightly thin...it just does not grab your attention like an expensive amp should. The Ayon Spirit III trumped it in every way including bass and especially imaging so I returned it for a refund. Anthem is a great company to deal with as I own a couple Statement amps for my theater...but the STR is not built to the same build quality level as Statement. Compared to Ayon, Hegel had a compressed analytical sound stage but is more appealing than the Anthem STR. I decided Class A or close to it so that led me to the Cambridge Audio Edge A with their XA design (biased to be similar to Class A) and I purchased with a 60 day trial. Wow, for the price this is by far the best sound I have heard from a SS amp and the design is very impressive and very well thought out...not just a box around a circuit board. The shipment packaging is an engineering marvel in itself. I originally did not consider CA, but I am glad I did give the Edge A a try as it has the tube like warmth, quickness, linearity, detail, huge sound stage, and not a hint of harshness. The Edge A can hang a note with decay like a good tube amp and it is whisper quiet while sounding big, but not exaggerated and still full and accurate at low volume. It just sounds right as music should sound, a straight wire with gain. It is a keeper but it does run very warm or should I say hot but has adequate heat sinks in the dual mono design. In my search, I have not liked anything from PrimaLuna (compared to Ayon) and the Simaudio 340iX and several AVM were at the top of the list until I tried the Edge A. To me it is splitting hairs between Ayon Spirit III and Edge A but Ayon gets the nod. One caveat with Ayon, I have owned a few and also have a Triton in my theater for stereo and I have experienced a few warranty issues and it is not a smooth ride for service. The CA Edge A has a 5 year warranty but hopefully I will not need it. |
Luxman L-509X or L-590AXII
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My fav in that price range is Jeff Rowland Continuum S2 and Jadis I-50, very different philosophies but both incredibly engaging and excel in all areas.
In my search I have also heard Luxman 509x, Luxman 590 AXII, Ayre AX-5 Twenty, Gryphon Diablo 300, Line Magnetic 508ia, Prima Luna (forgot the model), Naim Supernait 2, Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III, each of them had their strengths but none of them had the total package. |
I have had my Ayon Spirit for over 3 years, I love it. No problems at all. Has worked perfectly! |
My Ayon Spirit III Gen 4(nearly 5 years old) is being serviced right now for buzzing in the left channel which the technician expects to be failed resistors. An Orion III I owned which I sold to a neighbor failed to power up. My Triton had issues with a lost channel appearing and disappearing depending on how long it was on. I use my amps most every day and these issues arise after more than 3 or 4 years and I expect the Class A heat is a contributor. As far as I know there are only 2 service centers for Ayon in U.S. and both are always backed up for months as they are not just Ayon service centers. |
