integrated amp with phone for graham ls6 under $4000 new

I’ve used those speakers with several different integrated and they always sounded good, but they will step up their game when you move up the amp/source chain. I don’t think you need to agonize over your choices, but if you like classic rock, you might want the amp with a little more power. I really liked the Heed Obelisk myself. 50 watts and minimalist, but sounds really good.

I was thinking about this some more and if you’re in the US, I would recommend you contact Gene Rubin. He carries Heed, Belles, LFD and others and he can really help you set up something good with the Chartwells. He knows what works and he is excellent to deal with.  

thanks! i live in LA so was thinking of checking his place out

+1 for Gene Rubin and Belles...

Check out the Moonriver 404R, soldby “On A Higher Note”, there in California.  They also sell Graham speakers, and usually pair them at audio shows.  I have the Moonriver, and love it.

I have this available:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_440RA6000B/Rotel-Diamond-Series-RA-6000-Black.html

I have those speakers, which I purchased from Gene Rubin. I have heard them with the Belles Aria (standard version), LFD LE VI, and the Exposure 3510. All are great pieces of kit and each has its strengths, but my personal favorite overall when paired with the LS6s is probably the Exposure. Gene’s a great guy and will steer you in the right direction depending on your budget, room, needs, etc.

As for a phono stage, I’ve yet to find something that significantly bests my Heed Quasar for under $3K. I had my Exposure outfitted with their internal MC phono pre board, which is quite good, but the Quasar beats it by a wide margin. YMMV. You can occasionally find an older model Quasar (mine is a Mk2) for $600-700 used, in which case it’s a no-brainer. I personally could barely tell the difference between the Mk2 and Mk3 (currently model) when I considered upgrading.

Bottom line: Can’t go wrong with the Exposure, or doing business with Gene (I have no financial interest here...just happy with the experience).

thank you for all the advice. i’m gonna go listen to both the exposure 2510 and 3510. based on lots of reviews (and price), leaning towards the 2510 with mm phono and then when ready to move to mc, buying an external mc phone stage at that point. anyone compare the 2510 and 3510? seems some people prefer the 2510 and i’m wondering if the extra $1500 for the 3510 with mm phono is that big a difference to justify the price. would love the moonriver but out of my price point 

any speaker wire recommendations for exposure 2510 to ls6s? the ones i’ve seen are 5 meters which seems quite long

What do you mean “the ones I’ve seen?”  How long do you need?  Personally, I would just start with Belden 12 from Blue Jeans cables and listen for a few months until everything breaks in. Then you can try something else to see if you like it better. 

i meant when looking at wires for sale, most say 3.5mm or 5mm. i wasn’t sure if there was a danger of damaging amp or speaker if using the wrong type or wrong length, is there? currently i have about 6 feet each from my old amp to each speaker  of this cheap wire “wire path bulk wire by snap pan speaker14awg 2c 105 strand oxygen free copper”. would that work for the time being or think i should get the blue jeans?

The measurements you list are in “mm” not meters, so I would say they are in reference to the size of the binding post a spade lug fits, thus does the speaker binding post measure 3.5 or 5mm in diameter.  Wrong size spade lugs = a big problem.

guess i listed it wrong, these are the ones i was looking at “LFD Spiroflex Speaker Wire Pair 5 meters” but they’re $675 and i’d rather start with my cheap ones listed above if it will sound “okay” and not cause any damage to the speaker or amp

Here ya go! The cable you are using will not damage the speaker or amp!

1Meter=

3.2808Feet

I recommend Belden 12 gauge from Blue Jeans with locking bananas. If you’re using 6 feet now, order 8 feet to get a little positioning flexibility. Later on you can fool around with more expensive cables. 

Rogue Audio Pharaoh II

Rogue Audio Pharaoh II is $4K

FWIW, Morrow Audio has a 60% off sale running through the end of the month. They have different price points, offer good value (from personal experience), and have a trade-up program. I use their speaker wires (level "4" in their product line) paired with my LS6s and find them to be a great match. They're also light and flexible, which is an underrated benefit (I hate stiff speaker cables!).  

thanks for the tip! i ended up getting the exposure 2510, so the morrow sp4 would be a good match for that and my ls6?

Morrow speaker cables are good, but I would highly recommend the break in service. I’m not sure how many days he offers now. I would take at least 5 days. Whatever you buy, there will always be something else and another opinion. Personally, right now I’m listening to a pair of Worlds Best Canare Bi-wire cables I bought on Amazon for $120 and they sound damn good, even compared to cables costing 10x as much. But Morrows are fine.