Recommended integrated amplifier for upgrade

Here's the sleeper of the year: Topping PA5! $349 for a SOTA Class D integrated amp. It rates just below the Benchmark AHB2 for 1/10 the price! Why pay more?

because there are people out there who can actually hear differences between amplifiers, believe it or not..

I'd add the Moon 340i integrated based and also look at a Rogue integrated if you willing to explore a tube amp.

Enjoy!  I think you have a good list - it's time to audition.

As a Luxman fanboy of course I have a preference. I believe the 507ux is being discontinued so may be a good timeto shop for closeouts. Higher power, lower output impedance to the 505ux.

In terms of the McIntosh, if you hear it and the Luxman you are definitely going to come out with a strong preference of your own.

Another brand you should consider is Ayre.

How about a PrimaLuna 400 with KT-88 tubes? 

McIntosh or the Simaudio in SS.

Tubes, Audio Hungary any of their integrated's or Rogue. Not a big AR guy or PL, Raven.

Hybrids, Pathos, Vincent, Unison Unico Due and McIntosh oops Rogue also.

My sound preference is towards slight warm, wider stage with music genres of jazz, classical, new age music, and few jazz vocals.

As an Accuphase fanboy of course I have a preference, and the Accuphase house sound fits your sound preference.  I've owned the E-270  and E-470 (Current).  Those are previous models to the current lineup, but can be found used for MUCH less than the new models.

Second choice would be Luxman.  I've owned the 505,507, and 509 models.   All great but the 507 is the sweet spot IMHO for the price.

Have never heard your speakers, but Accuphase and Luxman usually play well with just about any speaker.  Both exhibit meticulous build quality & sound.

There is always PassLabs. 

Is you have around $6k very natural ,not too warm and the most current capabilities for control,and largest potted transformer in any integrated under$25 k with 3 amplifier choices with up to 18 wpc in pure class A  in the U.S A , Made for over 35 years Coda CSIB integrated amp.

these guys started out Waay back working as engineers with Nelson Pass

until he went solo around 1995,  10 year warranty ,5 year transferrable .

Leben CS 600X 

Icon Audio 845 PP

I recommend Audio Reseach… Luxman is also a good consideration. Unless, you only listen to rock I wouldn’t think of Mac. There are two “known pairings” with SF, Audio Research and MAC.

I have now owned three pair of Sonus Faber: Cremona, Olympica 3, and now Amati Traditional. With Audio Research you get a large soundstage, with great details and fully bloomed midrange and bass… incredibly musical. With Mac you get lots of midrange and more bass, minus the details, (my system under my ID… you can see my love of Audio Research).

I have heard the  VSi75 a number of times… it is so emotionally involving and simply beautiful to listen to… I want to buy one… but I have no where to use it. If I were you I would find a way to listen to it. From your description of what you want, this would be it… either you will buy it on the spot, or move on to Luxman.

To @pesky_wabbit

Topping bested only by the Benchmark AHB II. I love my Benchmark, but bought a different variant of the Topping circuitry, 150 watts into 8 ohms, for my studio system, and it just kicks butt. Buying amplifiers by the pound is soon to be a thing of the past.

"Conclusions
It is abundantly clear that ton of great engineering has gone into the design of Topping PA5. It breaks all barriers as far as noise and distortion, not only in its own budget/desktop class, but way, way outside of that. If it had double the power, it would obsolete all of them and in a hurry! As it is, I would certainly use it in a desktop or secondary system. And even primary if you are not going to blast the volume with super inefficient speakers.

It is my absolute pleasure to recommend the Topping PA5. The dynamics of stereo amplifier market just changed folks!"

´´  Omit nothing, add nothing.  ´´
Soulution INT 330   
Class A

https://soulution-audio.com/series3/soulution-330-integrated-amplifier/

Of course, McIntosh is the answer with Sonus-Faber. Integrated, I would look at the MA-2275. Not easy to find but a work horse of an integrated amp. No issues after 15 years except for tube change and a simple dial exchange.

Try a Naim Supernait. I have the original version and I’m very pleased with it.

I’ve had McIntosh solid state - not impressed, however I just got into Cary Audio Sl1-100. Holy smokes. I’ve got the Wow I’ve wanted with every aspect of music listening. Project turntable and vinyl amp, audio lab600 cdt and Schit dac. Raven Corvus monitors and 2 13” subs. Even the wife is gushing over the sound. 

+1 for the Coda CSiB Integrated.  I have had mine for 2 months now driving Thiel CS 2.4s which present with a wicked impedance curve (around 2.8 ohms at 600 hz), and the Coda handles it with ease.  I have the v1, 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms with first 18 watts in class A, power doubling down as you halve the impedance. I couldn't be happier.

I have not tried but a Hegel should work great, H190 or H390. Bryston B135 cubed is also great.

SF used to require a lot of power and if that is still the case I would avoid class A amps. Class D may be a great match. The Rogue Sphinx is for example a tube plus class D combo.

Wow, many thanks for all your sharing and thoughts. Understand and heard Audio Research are good match with Sonus Faber, my current Krell was also a good match , that’s 15 years ago and not the new Krell .  
 

I prefer slight warm, musical with wide soundstage, but not bassy.  
 

Thus, I would most likely look for Accuphase E280 like @robelvick suggested or Luxman as @ghdprentice @erik_squires mentioned.  

If Mcintosh sound too solid state “detail”  as mentioned like Krell, i would remove from my wishlist. Detail is good but not for long listening time.
 

I prefer a more relaxing music soundstage unlike 10 years ago as aging lol
 

Hope will get a demo unit for audition with my 88dB 4ohm SF speaker

Appreciate your feedback

McIntosh MA 352 - Hybrid integrated amp 200 W.  I traded in my MA 6900 for it.  Reg $6,500. New model.

@jasonbourne52 i am using Topping D90 AKM 4499 DAC (warmer than ESS 2nd edition D90) from Auralic Aries Mini to Krell via balanced XLR .

I believe Topping PA5 is more suitable for desktop monitor speaker ,  I prefer musical and warm sound.

VAIC and sonus faber ❤️

@william53b considering Amir works for Topping, not too surprised….

Leema Acoustics Tucana II - exemplary sound, richer and less technical than Luxman 507uxII

Too clean, too analytical, it sounds dry thus boring and fatigue over time. Thus, prefer slight warm, analogue and musical soundstage.  I was thinking about tube hybrid amplifier but it could be too warm and need maintenance on tube or tube rolling … 

I have a Luxman 505uxii paired with Dynaudio Special 40s and a REL sub. Absolutely love it---friends that stop by can't get over how rich, warm and detailed they are. You can't go wrong with a Luxman. Just my 2 cents. Good luck. 

I had a PrimaLuna HP w/ SonusF Guarneri’s. It was a tad underpowered. Replaced w/ a Rogers HiFi KWM 88 and am very happy. I’d consider massive seperates as the next step up. As EBay takes 12.6% using the phone to the mothership you could negotiate that from the price. It’s a monster of a class A amp. 

PS Audio makes great stuff. 
 
Budget? Rest of system? Room?  Roon?

@pesky_wabbit

It is hard to get around the point that people that do have $50k worth of testing equipment and do reviews probably have that equipment from their day job.

But I have the XTZ EDGE A2-300 that I bought last year to try in my studio and it pushed everything else in there into storage. Got it on a Black Friday deal for under $400 delivered. It only gets better when you put a better DAC and preamp in front of it. A/B ing it with my AHB II with my Benchmark DAC 2 and it's pre amp. It definitely is not the equal of the Benchmark yet; but, it is better than my Arcam surround sound receiver by quite a bit, when using the Arcam pre-outs and just judging the power amps side by side.

It’s not that it would replace the Luxman today, but these little monsters are getting really good at demonstrating that, they have the potential to be giant killers in the right hands. These digital ICE amps are after all, at the heart of PS Audio Stellar amps, and most other Class D high end products.

✌️

Check out the Hegel H390 or H590. Both have a slightly warm sound to them and have plenty of power for your Sonus Faber’s.  I have the H390 and am very happy with the sound with the KEF Reference 5’s.

All the best.

JD

It may be an opportunity to look into a Pass INT - xx, might be a match for SF.

Technics SU-R 1000 would be on my shortest list. Gorgeous looks, + modern GaN technology. I have owned a LSA 350 GaN amp for over a year, and love it, love it, love it. If the recording is warm you'll hear it in its glory. If the recording is not, you'll hear that too. But if all recordings sound warm, then it's a coloration.  Now you may like it, but it colors the really good recordings, too

I have and love the Pass Labs INT-25, but I wouldn't recommend it to drive the Sonus Fabers. An INT-250 def could and beautifully i'd imagine. I had an INT-250 driving a pair of JBL 4365s and loved it. I also really love Luxman - the 509x is great, I personally like the 590axII better (I have both) but once again Im just not sure how it'll drive those Fabers. The 509x on the other hand would have no issues and the first 8 watts are class A. As for Mcintosh, Im really diggin the sound signature of their new stuff - mostly solid state though. Ive heard the hybrids and idk they just aren't there. A bit muddy. My opinion. That being said I loved the MC462 with a schiit freya+ driving it. The MC462 also sounded great with a c2700 in front of it. One combo i wish i had kept - it felt so overwhelming though - so many meters and glass lol. I have a MA9500 on order now. Maybe that's an option for you - god knows it's gorgeous. Lastly Musical Fidelity has a really rich warm but clean and articulate sound - I would def check them out if you want quality and don't want to break the bank. They have some killer integrateds. And if you do decide to go Audio research - I LOVED my Gsi75. Another one i wish I had kept. Good luck on the search and please post what you end up getting.

Appreciate all your feedback .

Initially I was interested on ASR report, as I read more , I feel their review are biased. I got my first edition of Topping D90 replacing my decade old Cambridge audio DAC Magic after ASR review.

Thanks @snapoli2 for your Luxman recommendation, Luxman 590axii and 509x is above my budget of $6,000.

@wsrrsw Ya, I have subscribed to ROON, small and dedicated audition room setup (12’ x 12’) .

CODA CSIB Integrated 

I can't speak to Audio Science's possible affiliations or commercial biases.  I'll be honest, though - I'm a litle biased against it.  The sheer number of reviews suggest that they are really just lab tests.

I did read the Topping review linked above.  His one paragraph listening test consisted of hooking up 1 speaker.  You may each reach your own conclusion as to the ultimate value of this lab test.

I own a Rogers High Fidelity EFH 200 Mark II Integrated Tube amp & really like it. Very powerful, very well made & sounds excellent top to bottom. It s very dynamic,  w/lots of detail & a dead silent black background. No tube noise even w/ the volume up on efficient speakers. Its hand made by Roger & his staff in MA w/ a full lifetime warranty! It operates in class A mode so it runs hot & needs breathing room but worth it. You can watch several videos on youtube by Roger about his amps, their design, build quality etc. Good luck.

@auronthas, not familiar with your speakers but seems they are 4 Ohm jobs. As such, I would be very wary of the MAC MA5300. Nice amp but not sure its power supply is up to the task with those speakers. It'll drive them OK, I think, but not sure it will really make them sing. I've done serious seat-time with the MAC MA5300 and the Moon 340i that overthemoon mentioned. I'd recommend you check out that amp paired with speakers as similar to yours and/or 4 Ohm nominal load speakers of similar sensitivity to see what you hear. In short, if  you are considering Class A/B amplification for those speakers, you should listen to stuff that has a robust current supply.

I run a MA5200, the predecessor to the 5300 in my office system and it has run all the speakers I've connected to it just fine, including Concertino's and Concerto's from SF.  The Luxman, Accuphase or the McIntosh the OP listed would be great.  Just flip a 3-sided coin and pick one. 

+1, As was suggested above, the Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty amp is excellent. BTW, there is an Ayre AX-5 Twenty amp listed for sale on Audiogon.  Please see:

Ayre AX-5 Twenty amp listed for sale

Another less expensive alternative is the Ayre EX-8 2.0 integrated amp. Please see this link:

Ayre EX-8 2.0 Integrated amp

Please see this review of the Ayre amp:

Stereophile Review of Ayre EX-8 2.0 amp