Please help - WHICH INTEGRATED AMP?

If you agree or disagree, you’re welcome to comment if you feel like it.

Knowing the efficiency (87db)  load and phase angle (–56.28 degrees at 69 Hz.) of your speakers now in the bass that I posted, I think the Job maybe a bit light on/struggle in the bass and may run too hot with this load, this is from info gathered and read on the Job 225 poweramp not the integrated, which may be in even worse.

The Electrocompaniet I’m not familiar with, but just by looking at the inside it could get away with it, powersupply looks beefy enough, I would have preferred to see 8 output devices instead of 4 (two for each channel) and bigger external heat sinks as well, though there does seem be a small fan there cooling it.

If you do get this, then take the lid off and with a small brush an vacuum cleaner gently brush and suck away all the dust, and you can bet after 14years it will be full dust with a forced fan cooling system. 

 http://www.audiocostruzioni.com/r_s/ampli/electrocompaniet-eci-4/dentro-2.jpg

I still say "if you can fund it" by far, go with a second hand John Curl designed Parasound Halo Intergrated if you can find one. 

Cheers George  

Hope your still welcoming comments, here’s one more.

Just to let you know, in Australia on SNA, the Job 225’s external heat-sink was measured at 98c when driving easier speakers than yours, 90db 6-8ohms.

 Nelson Pass states that the heat-sinks that output devices are attached to need to kept around 60c to keep the output devices from accelerated degrading.

To aid it from self destructing they had to put on an external fan this Job 225 that reached 98c, you won’t be able to do that, as the heat-sink is inside on the integrated.

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp234/stevem1960/001_zps98acad57.jpg

Cheers George

These tests are measured by Sound & Vision and HT Labs, and you’ll nearly always find that in depth tests differ sometimes quite a lot to the average mean specs manufactures print, you just need to look at Stereophiles in depth bench test and compare to the manufacturers quoted spec.

Here is a bit more to look at from the Toy Tower test as done by Sound & Vision HT Labs.

"The Toy Tower’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +0.99/–3.79 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is at 84 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 61 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.96 ohms at 141 Hz and a phase angle of –56.28 degrees at 69 Hz. L/R Sensitivity: 87 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz"

Cheers George

Tested the Sonus Faber Toy Tower is 87db and has

Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.96 ohms at 141 Hz and a phase angle of –56.28 degrees at 69 Hz.

Which means it still needs an amp that is a good current deliverer to get the best out of the bass. 

Cheers George

Out of the s/h cheap list you posted, I would go the Krell KVA-300i as it will drive speakers with harder loads than the others.

But if you can go a bit further than the $1700 for a new or S/H one then this would be even better I believe.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/parasound-halo-integrated-integrated-amplifier#D1iUuSfLS3YK4iU1.97

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/parasound-halo-integrated-amplifier/

Cheers George