Recommended integrated amplifier for upgrade

@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.

✌️

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!"