2. amps-preamps
  3. 1136848549

Is There any Truly "High End" Integrated Amp?


I'm a reasonably well experienced audio nut and have tried a number of "good" integrated amps. I wonder, though, if there are integrated amps that are good enough for the "best", most revealing speakers. (Think Avalon Eidolon, Verity Parsifal, various JM Lab Utopias, and a variety of other fine speakers that do not have mammoth power requirements.)

People talk about the Levinson, the Musical Fidelity KW-500 and the lesser MF amps, the BAT integrated, The Rowland Concerto, etc. etc. etc.

I would like to hear from people who have actually tried the top tier of integrated amps and would be very interested in learning of their findings.

Don't need to be the most expensive. Could be the YBA Passion, Classe, MacIntosh 6900, Krell 400i, or any of a number of integrated amps that are supposed to sound good.

Hope to hear some good feedback.

Thanks very much.
jprice

Showing 1 response by larryi

larryi
4,343 posts
 
A possible candidate is the Viva Solisti. This is an Italian single-ended design that uses an 845 tube for each channel. It is a true integrated, not one of those tube "integrated" amps that have a passive linestage (only volume control and switching, no amplification/buffer).

I have heard Viva's prior model and liked it. I only heard the Solisti under show conditions, but the distributor insists it is much better than the model older model.
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