op a couple of points
op you don't want to run two sets of loudspeakers from one amplifier as the load will be unstable and a speaker selector will kill transparency
we sell rega naim, nad synthesis unison research and many others
we would recommend the unison research unico hybrid line as the addition of tubes to the circuit will have that warm McIntosh like sound but with greater transparency and more manageable weight at lower cost then McIntosh products
Dave and Troy
audio Intellect NJ
unison research dealers
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@joekapahulu
I own the Musical Fidelity M-6Si integrated amp (list price is $3,149). I am VERY surprised it sounds this good. The M6si offers excellent performance, facilities, and power. As per the Musical Fidelity web site “Internally, the M6si is configured as 2 independent monobloc power amps with a separate preamp. It is, in fact, a preamp with 2 monobloc power amps that just happen to share the same casework. The M6si has 220wpc. It has very low distortion, outstanding noise ratio and extremely flat frequency response”. The M6si offers excellent performance, facilities, power and sounds very good.
I am very happy with my Musical Fidelity M-6Si integrated am. My speakers, PMC Twenty5.21 Speakers, (small version) sound terrific, the magic has returned, and I am very happy. I do not know. Is this amp within your budget?
My audio friends said synergy between components is what makes an audio system sound great. I hope this helps. Obviously, in my system the Musical Fidelity M-6Si integrated amp is a perfect fit for my PMC speakers.
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You like to gamble? Sounds like it. Any decision you make in your current state of mind is going to be rolling dice with about 25 sides. There are so many flavors of sound. Also, with diligence and care in choosing the right sounding kind of amp it is going to sound a lot better than getting on that sounds great to someone else.
I guess, if you just want something until you have time to take your time... then I'd listen to what @audiotroy recommends.
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Theres a Hegel H95 demo for sale here in the sales forum for $1200(not mine) & a like new SimAudio 240i for $1400..00 on usaudiomart...I would buy either of those before anything else you mentioned..
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I have the Rotel A11 Tribute (last Ishiwata design, apparently) in our bedroom system. Replaced an Audio Refinement Complete integrated, which itself was pretty legendary. Didn’t do a true A/B, but I think the Rotel spanked the AR. And I love that it has speaker switching (A and B) capabilities - I have a set of floorstanders in the bedroom, and separately an in-ceiling speaker in the bathroom. Drives both easily.
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I'll second freediver's recommendation of the Simaudio. I've owned three Simaudio integrateds over the last 30 years, have a 250i at the moment, and keep coming back because the sonics and build quality are so remarkable for the price compared to any of the half dozen other brands I've owned..
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I am not a McIntosh guy, but from what I know everything mentioned is going to sound quite different. I like Musical Fidelity and Hegel suggestions, these will be a step up from the ones on your list. I owned a Rogue Sphinx V1, it did not wow me. I had a MF M3si and I really liked the sound, sweet. It was underpowered for my speakers, so I had to move on. The M6 has plenty of juice though, and there are some used ones out there for good prices.
And yeah, don’t run two sets of speakers off of one amp. Good luck with your search.
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If you go towards a Rogue look at the Cronus Magnum integrated. A little preamp tube rolling and the sound jumps by $1000s of dollars for a few hundred.
also look at TMR site they have a used PrimaLuna 400 EVO. I have experience with this also and it is very good sonically
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@freediver is pointing you in a good direction. One other thing, since your are living remotely, the second hand market for the Hegel gear is very strong. If you bring it into your system and don't like it, you can sell it much easier. Not sure you can say that about the other brands you mentioned. Good luck, aloha.
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I would recommend Hegel. I have 5 integrateds.Krell K300, Accuphase 380, Hegel 390, electrocompaniet eci 6,Macintosh 352, Pass 250. The HEGAL has characteristics of all of them. It’s a superb sounding amp for the money. No risk with this intergrated.
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Why don't you just buy a nice used MAC like the MA7900 I have and be 👍 with it. Pick one up for $5-7M.
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Ok, thanks for the responses from all of you. Some feedback. I dont run 2 sets of speakers simultaneously. I do want, if possible, the option of being able to run an A or B. My Walshs are good for daytime and bad for night as they dont handle low volume well. So, that is why I have my old Spendor S3/5 monitors and Kef R300s. I use those at night as they sound better at low volume and I dislike headphones. ( I am looking down the line at potentially replacing most of all of these speakers but that is likely1-2 years out.) I use the Spendors in my home office most of the time. I rather not use a speaker switch as I have one and agree it reduces the sound quality.
Budget is say $2-4k to as the stretch if I buy short term. I am replacing my wife's 2006 Honda and paying for a trip she wants to do, so that is depleting the "fun money" budget amidst stock market volatility. Kind of why I started with the Class D thing because of the illusion of cheap for a good amp....good but misplaced value proposition.
I have a Marantz PM8005 in another system and I like the sound...just wanted to get better/different approach. The Rogue is not my favorite idea tho I like the Cronus but the heat and the fact it sounds solid state to me disqualifies that.
A tube pre is ok but a full on tube amp that is hot wont work. Its almost 90 here today and its May. Adding more heat is not going to work. So, I am stuck in SS or hybrid world.
The 2 Ebay ads are on another island and high freigt too. I am intrigued by the Bryston so thanks for that. I will contact that guy. My cousin lives over there and could check it out. I also know Bryston gear is well made though I think that unit is kind of old.
I think the Hegel and Musical Fidelity ideas seem like the things to research some. I have never heard either but I know from reading on the forum that they both seem to be well received. Some noise about service from MF being bad but we will see. I have mostly focused on new, demo or maybe refurbed as they come with some form of warranty.
BTW, I did go yesterday to the one shop on island with whom I have done business before. Owner is a nice guy but totally focused on tube amps and very high end. He played a wonderful sounding Sun Audio tube SET amp and some fabulous Audio Physik Sparks speakers for me...$13k I think. He kind of focuses on what he is promoting vs what you are looking for and because he knew me he was excited to show me something new. I did very much enjoy the system but it is not going to work for my needs right now. Best he could do was a new Luxman 505Z which he did not have to audition. So, I kind of go back to the idea of buying a "fill-in" to carry me...not because I am a gambler per se but it is a coping mechanism for living in the middle of the ocean. Sorry, getting diverted....I appreciate all the input and wisdom and experience from all of you on this site. As music/audio are my main hobby in retirement, this is one of the sites that keeps me from boredom...
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I’ve owned quite a few integrateds within your budget. The standouts are Yamaha’s MOSFET powered series (A-S2100 or 2200), the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum 2, and the Axxess Forté1 (within your budget used). Most others were good to mediocre but did not connect me with the music. I like Rogue’s full tube products but I would avoid their hybrid amps. I’ve owned both the Sphinx V2 and Pharaoh. Both were mediocre in my system and left me cold.
The Axxess Forte1 is my current integrated. It doesn’t compete with $20K of separates (hardly any integrateds do) but it does remarkably well and most importantly, draws my attention toward the music rather than having me critique its performance every time I sit down. A bonus is you can leave it powered on 24/7 with negligible power draw. I preferred this integrated to a Luxman 507Z in a back-to-back comparison.
The Rogue CM2—great sounding amp—engaging, but was noisy in my system. Allegedly they addressed the noise floor in their mk3 revision. If so, I think it is a no-brainer if you can live with the heat of tubes. One thing the CM does particularly well is throw an extremely wide soundstage—on par with megabuck amps. To my ears it only sounds solid-state in the good ways but offers plenty of tube bloom and dimensionality.
I’ve also liked Rega integrateds throughout multiple auditions. They tend to have excellent PRaT.
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A budget figure might help the discussion.
My vote on class D is the Peachtree Carina GaN. 200W. Has a DAC. Lovely sound. Very accommodating footprint and would have generally high WAF. Not a 2-pair speaker amp, though. $3K. But you are setting aside class D, now. Not a difficult ship to Hawai'i.
I would vote for the Yamaha A S1200/2200/3200 units. Very clean, lovely cabinet. Excellent sound. ~90W. You would need a separate DAC.
The JBL SA750 is a one-box solution 120W Class"G" which is a hybrid class-A/AB. Has a DAC and streamer. Vintage look in a good way.
The new Heaven 11 Billie Mk3 is about to hit the market, offering a hybrid tube pre with class D amp, with a choice of either Hypex or ICEPower. I haven't heard it but the pre-release reviews are good.
If you are considering a tube integrated, I can suggest the Audio Research i/50 which is excellent. Class-AB, operates on 6550s in the power section. It can be optioned with both an AR DAC and a MM Phono pre, as in-the-box modules. $6.5K-8K new but there are regularly nice examples used at about $4K, some even with the module upgrades. I bought one used, fully optioned, and like it very much.
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My brother had a Hegel cannot remember the model and loved it have heard good things about Yanaha
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Mark Levinson 5805 or 5803 integrated used. You could also look for a used Luxman L-505uxII. These are awesome integrateds that you can live a lifetime with.
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+1, “Musical Fidelity M3si Integrated Amplifier”. I used this amp as a loaner while my main amp was being repaired, and it sounded very good. I recommend checking out its reviews and features before making a decision.
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If you are driving two sets of speakers, assuming they’re two different stereo pairs, you may benefit from having fully independent control of each pair. For this we suggest the miniDSP Flex TRS along with the Hypex nc252 Quad from Deer Creek audio.
This video describes miniDSP Device Console which is how you would control this setup.
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+1 Hegel - best safe option if cannot demo is a used H360/H390 or above - optional DAC sonics is very good. Can easily sell if want to try something else.
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Any reason not to repair your Macintosh? If you’re unable to audition products I would think that would be the best option rather than rolling the dice as someone mentioned. Good luck!
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@emann50 I will likely do that, however, it will take months due to the need to ship it away from Hawaii. Last time it was 4-5 months. I also no longer have much in the way of backups as my prior office amp was killed off by the same hurricane winds that set fire to Maui and blew our grid on Oahu up. Blew out the whole unit and my UPS/surge protector. I never got a satisfactory replacement so my backup has been doing primary duty thru a Luminous Audio passive preamp to drive my Spendor S3/5s. I have OLD amps from SAE and Yamaha (real old...30-40 years) that I could pull out and see if they work....but you get the picture...too much vintage stuff. So, I need to get an modern integrated no matter what. I only have a 10 year old Marantz PM8005 that is running things now. So, I figured get a decent new integrated that can become the best one in all the systems and can handle 2 speakers. Then move the Marantz to the office. It is all very convoluted frankly. I try to buy new these days just to try to avoid the issues of older used gear or at least have a warranty so all I pay is the $400-500 round trip shipping. Lots of nice things about living in Hawaii but lots of penalties to paradise also...
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