New Integrated amp recommendation


Greetings:

I’m looking to upgrade my Yamaha 801 to drive my Revel 328s

Unfortunately I live in South Carolina and auditioning equipment requires a fair amount of time and travel. 
The room is 20x25 loft open to one side to a staircase and 11 foot ceilings (not ideal but limited amount of conditioning will follow) 

Almost always classic rock and contemporary jazz never above 80db Vinyl/CD and streaming

I’ve read a number outstanding reviews on Luxman integrateds and that is the first question..Is the 505z a good fit? If so does stretching the budget to the 507z offer a sonic difference? If not Luxman any other recommendations. I’m not necessarily looking to color the sound of the Revels but the Yamaha and maybe the room lack a bit of low end clarity and maybe a bit of fatigue from the Be tweeters.

Finally has anyone had experience buying direct from Japan? Can I assume the transformer is going to add unwanted noise?

Appreciate any thoughts love the forum. Learn from it everyday.

Thank you

JF

 

 


 

jwfitzdo

Few years ago went thru 3 Luxman receivers , all had reliability issues and there is no parts for them. I have a McIntosh MA7900 integrated 200 WPC into 8 ohms great soundstage , has it all. They were mfg 2013- 2017 and you can probably find one for about $6,000. The newer model MA8900 great also. No need to demo it but you will need a study table it weighs 75 pounds and has a 5 band graphic equalizer built in also. I pair it among other things with a McIntosh MR-71 tube FM tuner the finest sounding radio I've ever heard. There are many other choices but with the Mac you know it's quality , parts are available , repair shops that specialize in them and a solid resale value. I'd pesonally never buy anything from Japan. Shipping , returns can all be a problem and it's all 100 volt over there unless made for U.S. market. Happy listening.

Let's see.  The OP states he never listens above 80db.  His speakers need less than 1/2 watt on average to achieve his goal.  Even allowing for huge peaks,  he could achieve his goal with a quality low wattage/high current design.  

Yet post after post is for high powered unliftable mega-amps.  (i.e. let me tell you about my favorite amp that you don't need).

Brother.

Personally, I like Accuphase. But if you like Yamaha gear, I’m a big fan of their heavyweight integrateds, all together different animals from your 801.  The A-S2200 and A-S3200 are very, very good.  Simple, straightforward gear, quality parts, real knobs & switches, and, yup, meters!  Any Accuphase and these two Yamahas are rock solid, and could easily be the last integrated you ever buy.

again, so many good choices recommended here and i'm sure u would be happy with most or all of them....so much great gear out there..... can't go wrong with virtually any of these recommendations...please remember all depends on the proper room acoustics, proper power setup, proper mlp for concentrated listening

want to point out a brand not recommended much as integrateds....but they make 2, 1 all tube, 1 preamp tube, amp solid state...either would be fantastic, solid state may be recommended with hard to drive speakers, and if room temperature is a concern.....

Balanced Audio Technology VK-3500 BAT For Sale | Audiogon

here's the solid state, i would recommend this for an integrated as while i like the tube amp sound a  better, it gets hot!.... so this is the best of both worlds...and again, opinions vary, but after years and years of trying different equipment and losing hundreds and thousands of dollars, i finally found the music enjoyment that just plain makes me happy......thanks to BAT....yes i'm a fanboy, ...live close to them..been there, met some of their nice folks...can't do better sound quality wise, build quality wise.... 'us company that will be there for u if u have a problem...i will say that i'm an old school separates guy, but i won't try to talk u out of an integrated, in fact, if u have to settle for an integrated, then i don't think u can do better than this.... and if u want separates, which i would recommend, please though, not trying to resurrect this age old argument, i'd still say owning BAT will get u off the equipment merry go round...

just one man's opinion...and as the saying goes....opinions are like a******s, everyone has one....

just enjoy your music...that's what this should be about!