Integrated Amps vs. Separates.

I'm sorry but you stated a $4000.00 budget I simply went for what I thought to be the best I could get for that amount of money. I do tend to agree with trelja it is all a matter of taste and as long as you are happy with your choice that is all that matters I shall speak no more on this issue happy listening gentlemen.

Ok, then compare a $6000 dollar integrated at a $4000 used price. And yes, all that matters is that WE are happy with what we have.

it is somewhat of a grey area. Before I bought my Cary int., I was looking at used separates, ( BAT vk60, VAC pa100/100, VTL monoblocks, Music Reference RM200, and many other amps I've forgotten about, w/ possibly Blue Circle 21, VTL 2.5, BAT 3i, etc.) These used separates were in the same ballpark as the new integrateds I was looking into. I wound up getting what I did because of a great price break, but I decided in the end that there really is no black & white definitive 'better' option, although I do "lean" towards thinking that the great int.s ARE better in the same pricerange because of the positives that I and others have brought up earlier in this thread. Of course I'll never know until I go through some sort of rigorous time consuming A/B which is completely out of the question, unless one of you guys with nice separates in the $3K range wants to bring your equipment down here to St Thomas for a week or so.

This has turned out to be a great thread. Thanks everyone for their input. The important part of my original post was the "in the same price range" part. I'm on a budget(as most of us are), and I just wondered were the money would be better spent(seps or integrateds). I have to agree that I think an integrated amp is the way to go for me. I'm looking at the Sim 5080 and I-5, Audio Refinement Complete, and some Jolida stuff. I think one of these will fill the bill well. I think that whatever I pay for one of these units I will get more bang for my buck than if I were to go with same price range seperates. Oh ya, I'm assumiung used prices for all. The mailman

Despite the fact that there are some excellent high priced integrateds like Mark Levison, Jeff Rowland, Plinius etc seperates have distinct physical/design advantages that can only be had with two box approach. British have been making quality integrateds (MF, Linn, Cyrus, Myryad etc) for a long time, and at @$2000 dollar point companies stop offering integrateds and only offer seperates. Again their long experience with integrateds has shown that above $2000 the cost of the extra box is offset by performance gains. For American audio products the price points are higher, but the principles are the same. For instance Brian's $6000 ML integrated would have to compete with $6000 amp/preamp from companies like Bryston, McCormak, Plinius, Musical Fidelity, Cary, Sonic Frontiers, Rogue etc. BTW I own both integrateds and seperates and appreciate the convenience and cost savings of integrateds, but recognize the compromise. I may stretch the budget to $3000 for a top American integrated, but above that I can get seperates for the same price that sound better, Sam