Pass Labs int 60 vs. Luxman 590 uX ii

I would look at the Naim Audio Super Nait 3 integrated. Naim and Focal are part of the same company. My dealer sells both Naim and Focal and they make an excellent pairing.

wisdom here i think...

@larseand

understood on the hegels including a dac which may not be used

you can get a used hegel with last gen dac, and consider that aspect a throw-away... what is special about the hegels is the amp section - something brilliant going on there... i don't use the dac in any of my hegels (have 3)

you have many good choices, none are bad

i am also a big hegel fan... i think they sound absolutely wonderful, not a hint of ss glare or hardness, deep dark background, spacious wide and deep sound stage, tremendous bass control

other top ss integrateds - by pass, luxman, naim, ayre, belles are all in the same (top) class of sq, but i have come to prefer hegels

i also agree that the focal be tweeter is very good, but can be easily teased into brightness, so smooooooth is the key word on source and amp selection, in which case, one must also not rule out good tube amps, i.e. from stalwarts arc and cj, and respected newcomers like rogue, primaluna etc etc