Inexpensive integrated for Usher S-520

I was looking at the little dot, but the tube in the preamp concerns me. One of the things I like about the tripath amps is they are very efficient, and if I left them on all night, they wouldn't draw much power or produce much heat. Would a tube in the preamp create additional heat, and could it safely be left on for hours at a time? Has anyone listened to the Pop Pulse? It looks almost perfect on paper, but I can't find many reviews. I'm also considering one of the Panasonic SA-XR models since I'll have at least two sources. Any other ideas?

I own and love an Onkyo A-9555 and strongly recommend it for your situation. The price is totally right and you'll probably get your best frequency extension out of your list of candidates. It puts out about 100 wpc into 8 ohms and near 200 into 4 ohms. What seems to translate into a very smooth and dynamic presentation, however, is its instantaneous current delivery when called upon. It can hit instant current peaks up to 80 amps, which is very high. This translates into always delivering the required voltage regardless of the speaker's impedance fluctuations. The A-9555 is also very quiet, so it's particularly good at matching with high resolution speakers, and brings out the dynamics at both the loud and soft ends of the spectrum.

In the Stereophile test, the S-520's tested sensitivity was 84.5 dB. Pretty low, but not so bad in an 11'x12' room. The Onkyo should enable your Ushers to hit clean peaks of 105 dB in an anechoic chamber. This means it would be louder than that in a small room.

Most important, the Onkyo is amazingly transparent and fast, yet smooth and musical. It doesn't sound like a $500 amp at all. I easily prefer it over a Cambridge 640A or Rega Brio 3, both of which I've heard extensively. 3 years ago I installed a Cambridge 640A in my neighbor's house. If I had it to do today, I would get the Onkyo, no question.

Try the Decco, I have heard this with the 520's and it works very nicely.

cheers

I'd love to audition the Decco, but it's out of my price range right now. I picked up a used Panasonic XR55 to use for now. The xr55 just might be all I need since this is a small bedroom system and I have limited speaker placement options that are not ideal. After some initial listening, the Panny makes the S-520 sound a bit bright on some material. I'm sure it can sound much better after some more tweaking. For the money spent, I'm impressed.

Thanks!

I second the recommendation for the Onkyo A-9555. I've had it for over a year, and am still amazed by its sound. It sounds better than its price would suggest. If I have any criticism, it would be that the highs are a bit rolled off and the bass may not be very tight. However, at its price, I'd pick it any time.