Yes, seperates will make enough difference to sustantiate their purchase. Probably at some time in every audiophiles life, the "tube bug" will appear. Those who can afford it will purchase tubed gear, roll different tubes in and out of each component until they feel they find the ultimate euphoric sound. There has always been a battle so to speak between solid state and tubed listeners. I decided to attempt a little of both worlds. I have a BAT VK-500 w/batpak as my amp, SF Line 2 preamp and SFCD-1 CD player. Every one of the original tubes have been replaced with NOS Amperex 7308 gold pins. Sonic Frontiers has never been known for a 'tubey' sound but with the right tubes in the system, it ventures forth in the general direction. The BAT amp is known to be somewhat mellow and tubelike also. Being solid state, I get incredible bass and very good detail. The combination of solid state and tubed gear gives me somewhat the best of both worlds. Keep your SFCD-1, just upgrade your tubes. You can find this same amp and preamp here in the Audiogon for just about your $5000 limit. Just remember, the replacement of the tubes is essential in creating some of the warmth, liquidity, and resolution that you and your wife may be looking for. Best of luck...
Do I really need separates?
Currently the main system is a Anthem Integrated 2 fed by a Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 through XLO ref. Speakers are Near 50meII. Cables MIT MH-750 bi-wires. Would I really hear a difference if I replaced the integrated with tube separates from BAT or Sonic Frontiers. Also, will a 50 watt tube amp push as much current as a solid state amp. My wife has suddenly got the audiophile bug worse than me. She really wants tubes (I guess I do to) but we also want to hear an improvement over the current rig. The cd-player we both love as well as the speakers. I guess we are a little confused. What happened to the good old days when I didn't even have the money to consider all this. Or max price point for making the switch is about 5k. please can someone help?