D’agostino integrated amp vs their amp and a tubed pre amp setup.

One of my favorite solid state setups.

I wish I could tell you that I had compared the integrated with the separats but I only heard the separates with Wilsons.

It's going to sound a lot like my review of the Luxmans, and that's good.  Deep bass, liquid liquid (doubled for emphasis) midrange and treble. Effortless and without a point to make. No fault at all.  Noiseless.  Makes conventional speakers sound like they have the endless range of horns.

Having said that, you should also listen to Ayre as a counter point.  Very good sound with a kind of endless dark backdrop, like it takes noise out of the room. 

Of course, another brand I love and own is Luxman, but if you are looking to buy D'Agostino already you may feel this a step down, but I don't mind.

What you might also wish to listen to is a Luxman tube pre with D'Agostino amp.

Let me know what you do.

You should look at t+a gear a german compsny their older hv 3000 integrated amp was compared at the time to the time as the twice as expensive dagastino and found to be just as good

"https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/ta-elektroakustik-3100-hv-pdp-3000-hv-sacdcd-...; https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/ta-elektroakustik-3100-hv-pdp-3000-hv-sacdcd-...

T+a gear is one of the finest manufacturers of gear on the planet the hv gear uses high voltage rails to emulate the sound of tubes

Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj
T+Aelectroacoustik dealer

the dag progression integrated amp(18k) is extremely refined and powerful with the best midrange that i’ve ever heard in SS. If a bit softer/fuller tube like sound is what you’re looking for this would be a good place to start. see recent review in hi-fi news as it’s the first i’ve seen. fwiw

I am new to high FidelityBut I’m trying to design a system that has the warm tones of a tube amp with greater more efficient power.

A common enough mistake. In reality its never power. No one ever needs more than about 50 watts. What they need is speakers with sensitivity of 92dB, at the very least. 95dB and up is even better.  

Do this one thing and boom! Now any amp 20 watts or more is all you need. The Tekton Moabs I run for example, 98dB, with my 50 watt Melody tube amp fills my 24x30x9 foot room with sound so wonderful you can't believe (if you fall for Danny D' do NOT come hear this!)https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367  and will play loud enough to leave ears ringing if you keep it up long enough. 

A much, MUCH better choice if you are in that price range https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/reflection-mk2/
Also you need to realize its not just the amp that gives the warm tube sound you want. Its everything. If you do not pay attention to this its real easy to undo with wire and source components and speakers everything you thought you had accomplished with the amp. 

So if you are smart you will be looking at speakers like Tekton that are, not warm really, but certainly not hyped up like the vast majority of what's out there. Also incredibly easy to drive. Betcha money since you think you need way more power than you do its because you got sucked into speakers like Wilson, Magico, etc that require massive power. Why? Because they never were designed to work in the real world. 

Putting together a satisfying system isn't hard enough already? Why put yourself through that? Simplify. Save yourself a ton of money. Time. And effort. More importantly, way better results in the end. Actually get what you were looking for. 

4425 check the review of the PA 3000 the reviewer found the t+a integrated at18k to compete with the52k momentum integrated  

T+a gear is in another league then dagastino 

T+a is the largest electronics manufacturer in germany they have 110 full time employees
With 14 full time engineers 

They have pioneered tons of new technoogy

The make their own cd transports as well

audiotroy i have no doubt that T+a is very fine gear. In terms of bettering the dag sonically i couldn’t know without hearing them both in my own system. also a reviewer is just a guy with an opinion. some are better than others. 

I’m sorry for not being clearer in my original post. I am deciding between the Dag Momentum integrated amp with a phono pre amp VS the Momentum S250 paired with a pre amp (probably the VTL 5.5) and phono amp. I was wondering if anyone had heard those two systems and could comment on which was preferable. From a monetary standpoint it’s really equal. So that’s not really an issue. I’m pairing the power to Wilson Sasha DAW’s. Again, new to this all so forgive my in-artful questions.
Dean

Very happy with our D’ag Moment Integrated Amp. that we purchased in early 2020.  Our dealer cut us a nice deal ...  

I own the D'ag Momentum S250, paired with VTL 6.5 tubed pre, powering Wilson's Yvettes, and love the sound, control, sound staging...great synergy with TA cables. I wanted the DAW's, but wife felt they were too big, and 'Star Wars' looking...damn.
You will love the flexibility and sound quality of the path you are considering.
Good luck, and enjoy. The D'Ag's have unlimied control and power, I also compared to the Ayre separate mono blocks, liked the D'ad better...
What does your ears tell you, and what is your dealer pushing?
Happy New Year

I test listened to the Dag S250 with my ARC Ref 40 in my home with my Wilson Sashas for a weekend and the sound was excellent. Not as tubey as a full tube set up but more transparent with the hint of tube magic. In other words, the best of both worlds. Although I did not test the Dag with a VTL pre, I have heard the 6.5 and 5.5. on many occasions. They are excellent preamps. I’m sure the combo of Dag/VTL would be wonderful. Although Dag is my favorite ss amplification gear for Wilsons, I much prefer a tube pre with Dag than all Dag. All of this is highly subjective and personal--but that's my take. Good luck--you cannot go wrong with either choice.