Integrated or Separates on a budget

Blewis1041, about the NAD, it's my champagne tastes I'm afraid. I always try to stretch to the very best possible sound for the buck. I'm willing to do some hunting for it and put up with some inconvenience in the outcome.

The amp you mention is still very good. I recommended and had installed its precursor, the C370, in my school's computer lab to drive PSB Image speakers for the projection system. The result is great on movies and demos, and better than most any school has a right to expect for music.

I'm ridiculously golden-eared, and the integrateds I named above (and even the Linns) play in another league--but they won't do two speaker pairs easily and the NAD will.

I have heard that getting separates is generally better all around

Well...

...no.

I would not say, today, that separates are generally better than an integrated. There are tradeoffs involved both ways. Expense is the biggest, as you mention. Size is another. Actually, at a given price level, I think you should in principle get better sound from an integrated than from separates. Power supply structure and shielding need to be good in the integrated but you eliminate a set of interconnects, and money saved on the extra box can be spent on better parts.

Having to drive two sets of speakers from the same amp limits the possibilities somewhat. In this case you might actually want to go for entry-level separates, if only to choose a preamp with two sets of outputs so you could buy and drive a second power amp later on.

I wouldn't look at Cambridge or NAD, though. I would see if I could find gear by Linn for this, or perhaps Rotel. Linn are good at multi-room systems. Used, a Wakonda or Kairn preamp and an LK85 or LK140 (much better-sounding) might work. I'm afraid you'll have to ask a dealer or check Linn's site to see if these amps will do multiple speaker sets.

For the same money, though, you would get better sound from many integrateds. I would forget tubes unless I had technical help, because of the multi-speaker requirement. If I could find some way to live with only one set of outputs, I would want to try an integrated by YBA, Sim Moon, Vecteur or maybe that Portal.