Creek 5350SE vs Rega Mira 3

Tubes dude!

Actually I'm about to set up a Mira 3 that I got on loan from a friend. I'm not expecting it will compete with my Cary SLI-80, but if it does I'll make that loud and clear.

I've tried to get away from tubes for my main system for a LONG time, many years, but somehow just can't.

Art

Weellll... The Rega Mira 3 is sounding quite nice :)

It has a sweet, delicate, polite but lively sound.
Not a trace of harshness. Even seems a bit palpable. Definitely lacking in authority compared to some other amps. It has a hint of grain, but less grain than other solid state I've had in my house. I detect some congestion.

I'm driving Silverline Sonatina II's in a room probably larger than intended for the Mira. I do use a REL Strata II subwoofer, which augments the low end. This might be an important ingredient. But I'm on a big subwoofer kick these days (I've got a REL T1 on my Monitor Audio iDeck in bedroom :-o )

I'm only two hours into it. Will update if changes. Right now I'd say that I could easily live with the Mira (if tubes were not an option) and get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Art

As an afterthought, I swapped in my Audience powerchord in place of the generic. This is what I use on my Cary, and damn, if that Mira isn't starting to sound like the Cary. The powerchord made a SCARY differnce. Ok, everything boils down to system synergy etc... and do you really want a $600 powercord on a $1200 integrated. (Yes!!)

YMMV.
Art

My experience is that they are towards the warmer, more musical side of ss integrateds and they would be on my personal short list (I've heard them for brief periods, never had them in my home, also studied their reviews.). The more expensive one gets you a little more detail in the sound.

Audiogon is a great way to try out gear at relatively low depreciation cost. I mostly stopped going to dealers because I don't want to use their time unless I play to buy from them, and I find that I need much more than a quick demo in the shop to determine the character of a piece. Also, as a hobby-est in this area, I like to change gear a lot, and I'd get killed with depreciation if I bought new all the time.

That said, if this were not my hobby, if I just wanted to get a nice system set up and forget it, I would definitely work with a dealer to get a nice system with proper synergy put together. I recommend dealers all the time to friends that want to do that. It can save you a lot of time and grief and experimentation.

So, IMHO, if you just want to set up a system and get on with life, find a dealer with good gear to compare and work with. A dealer with Naim, Rega, Linn sounds fine to me. If you see yourself getting itchy to change systems every year or two... welcome to the club :)

Art