Integrated/DAC Suggestions


Hi all,

I'm looking for some suggestions on an Integrated Amp/DAC, preferably in-one, to drive my Linn Majik 109 bookshelf speakers that are rated at 4 ohms. Source is all digital through USB: either Spotify, Tidal, or FLAC, routed into my listening room which is 15'x12'. 

The three that I'm taking a hard look at are the NuPrime IDA 8, Hegel H80, and NuPrime IDA 16, ordered according to price (1000, 1500, 2500 respectively). The Majiks at 4 ohms I think should benefit most from higher wattage, but I wanted to get your opinion on whether I could get away with the NuPrime IDA 8 which claims to output 100W per channel at 8 and 4 ohms (shouldn't it be 50W at 4 ohms?). Alternatively, the H80 is rated at 125W @ 4 ohms and has stellar reviews. The IDA 16 much the same, at 200W @ 4 ohms.

I can probably demo the Hegel but the NuPrimes will be harder in my area I think. Appreciate your insight!  

   
horndog
A friend of mine is a dealer for nuprime and has owned many many high end integrated over the years. If you want PM me for his contact info, I'm sure he will be happy to share his thoughts with you. Best of luck whichever way you decide to go.

OK, after doing more thinking my choice is now between the Hegel H80 and the Nuprime IDA8.  I like the compact packaging of both and functionally they are very similar.

Which one has the better DAC?   I'm not up to speed on DACs.
I think the H80 would be a no-brainer if the price was lower.  The price on the IDA8 makes it very tempting.

One thing the IDA8 has a sub-out but the H80 doesn't. 
Dont know if that is important to you.

Nice speakers but I am not very familiar with them so take this all with a grain of salt.

I have the Hegel H200 (no dac) and love it. Really liked the sound of all the Hegels I have heard, and think they have a great implementation of the dac for the price. I think you couldn't go wrong with the H80 if you like the Hegel sound. They also have a high dampening factor which it is said improves the push and pull on the speaker drivers. I think this means that whatever wattage they list would be robust rather than lean (others may correct me on this). 

The nuprime look nice on paper but I would want to be sure to hear it, see it and feel it, given it is a new endeavor by the nuforce team. Or at the very least I would want to hear from Agoners who own it or heard it for their impressions. I do not know anyone who has heard it. 

Other options are the Bel Canto integrated and Parasound Halo. I didn't like the Bel Canto sound on the three speakers I tried it on, but many people do, so you may try it. The price of the new 7i seems pretty high but perhaps you could find a demo or used one or the 5i. They come up used from time to time.

The Parasound Halo integrated also has many fans. I haven't heard this particular Parasound but in general they make great products. 

One final idea - if space or simplification is your concern for a 'one box' approach, I had the same concern and chose a great integrated without a dac (the H200) and matched it with the Halide DAC HD, which is tiny, sounds great, and has no more footprint than the USB/RCA wires. This does limit the DAC input to USB rather than optical, but it works great for me.

Good luck. 
I just got the H80 and I'm very happy with it. Driving 4 ohm Dali Helicon 300 speakers in a smallish room, it has plenty of power. I like having the option of analogue connections.