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Plinius 8200 MkII -- best integrated ss amp?

I currently have a Plinius 8200MkII but lately, i have been considering an upgrade. However, whenever i read its reviews (in TAS) and the comments of other people, it seems that this is one of the best INTEGRATED amps for the money. I fear that once i purchase a more expensive amp I might just realize that the improvement (in there is any) is not worth it.

The reason for the desire to upgrade is that, last December, i bought a demo pair of JM Lab mini-utopia and a pre-owned Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 3D CD player. Thus, i now feel that i should upgrade my amp to the same level as the cd player and the speakers (in terms of price ratio that is). (Cables are analysis plus 9 and DH labs air matrix interconnects)

Some of the people in this site advised me to get a yba passion and i think it is really a good choice. But i want to know the comments of other people who have had a direct comparison of the 8200MKII with other more expensive integrated amps.

There might be some people who upgraded to another amp from their Plinus 8200 MkII OR their might be some who downgraded to it (in terms of price not sound) since they may believe that it comes close to the sound of the more expensive integrateds in the market. I want to know their views and comments on the matter.

I want to stick with integrateds so to those who have experienced the Plinius 8200Mk II sound, how does it compare with the following integrateds:

Mark Levinson 383
Jeff Rowland Concerta II
Yba Passion
Pathos Logos
Musical Fidelity TriVista (or Nuvista)
Krell KAV 300iL/500iL
Electrocompaniet ECI 4
Audio Analogue Maestro

I know that careful matching is a must. But unfortunately dealers here in the Philippines are not keen on allowing home demos so doing a home demo with my speakers is highly improbable. Thus, comments on this matter will be extremely appreciated.

Also, if any of you hava had a succesful match of an amp with the mini-utopias please feel free to reply to this thread.

Thanks.
jermometer
mwb
4 posts
 
I have owned the Jeff Rowland Concentra II and the Mark Levinson 383 of those mentioned - I downsized from a system that included the Utopias.

I never really cared for the Levinson sound in general BUT let me say that the Levinson 383 was the very best solid state integrated I could find.

The Rowland was perhaps the most beautiful piece of audio gear I have owned (and by no means the most expensive) and it had great build quality.

The Mark Levinson - and this is true of all the Levinson electronics in my opinion - is just unmatched in ergonomics and flexibility. The build is unsurpassed. It is a touch on the dark side of neutral and very detailed. At worst it lacks the texture of the Rowland and it can be "buttoned down" but in truth Mark Levinson equipment has come a long way (in my opinion) from the early, more sterile days....By the way, I have always preferred Krell to Levinson equipment (having owned a KSA 300s years ago) and I can tell you NOT to even bother with the Krell integrateds as they are not in the same league with either the Levinson or the Rowland (in my opinion). Can't Speak to the NuVista issue 'cause I haven't heard them.

If you can do tubes and have the money, the best Tubed integrated I have heard is the Tenor.
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
Jermometer, did you ever make a change?
lkean
12 posts
 
Providing info based on Stereophile's article at http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?762

Brinkmann, Plinius and Jeff Rowland. According to the author, if your system match well with Concentra II, it will probably not with the Plinius. And Brinkmann's sound was described as in between.
bobheinatz
722 posts
 
You need to check out the BAT 300x. You can have the best of both world's with their hybrid models with the tube being in the preamp section. I did hear the BAT with JM labs speakers (don't know the model) and it sounded great. I compared the BAT with the Rowland and like the BAT better. You could not go wrong with either the BAT or Rowland. I have not heard the 383 but would assume it to be in the same league with BAT & Rowland. Good luck.
randybrown
9 posts
 
Check out BV-Audio. I have their preamp and if their integrated model is anything like it, it must be excellent. I had the Plinius Mk11 for a while and wasn't impressed. Also had a Unico. Ditto. You can do much better than these two, I'm sure.
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