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Retirement integrated amp for a “fiscal conservative”

I’ve taken the plunge and am now enjoying the 2nd week of retirement after 44 years of work, including 42 years with the company I just retired from.  
 

One of the retirement goals I’m really looking forward to is spending much more time enjoying music with my main system!

I’ve pretty much gone digital (but do have a Linn Sondek LP12 to enjoy LPs purchased in the 60’s - 80’s). 

My system consists of a Rose 150B streamer/DAC and a Primaluna CD player for digital playback. I use a Roon Nucleus for Roon/Tidal new music research and listening. Speakers are original Joseph Audio Perspectives. 
 

I enjoy all types of music, but mostly listen to jazz (preferably smooth but am exploring all of the various forms of jazz). 
 

I’m currently using a Primaluna Dialogue HP Premium integrated amp which I’ve enjoyed for many years. Here’s where the “fiscal conservative” part comes in; this amp has 8 power tubes. Even with Primaluna’s great low tube stress design concept, I’m not looking forward to replacing power tubes every couple years with my retirement bonus listening time. Also, I’d like to get additional damping factor bass control than my current amp provides. I love the tube midrange and treble range sound, but would like an upright bass to sound more like a wood instrument (hard to describe in words) and hear more natural note attack and decay
 

I’d like to get ideas/advice from A’gon music enjoyment experts on a replacement integrated that still provides the acoustic sound of tubes, but doesn’t require new tubes every couple years/2,000 hours and is a great match to enjoy jazz on the rest of my system which I plan to keep. I’m open to used or new with a cap of say $8,000. 
 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions. 
 

Eric

ezstreams
ghdprentice
7,253 posts
 

Sorry to hear you have tinnitus. This is a reason to choose very carefully. Very trebly solid state units like Luxman are probably going to exacerbate your tinnitus. Happily I do not have tinnitus. But having discussed it with many folks that do, you want a very warm musical sound. Highly detailed components tend to exacerbate the problem. Tubes are a really good choice... and probably not Rogue. I'd look at Conrad Johnson, Audio Research. I'd go listen to an Audio Research I-50... it is very musical with amazing PRaT. 

gbmcleod
506 posts
 

Try to find an ASR Emitter 1 Basic, the Rolls Royce of integrateds. Solid state but actually is as liquid as tubes, with solid state bass and excellent highs. AND, it does both macrodynamics and microdynamics exceptionally well. Imaging is spectacular (almost matches my Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes in that respect, and that is saying a great deal!

Brand new, here in the US, they cost $13,000. A few thousand less in Europe. The Music Room has one for $3,800. If I didn’t have one, I’d buy it.

mpearson99
1 posts
 

I'm a 63 year old audiophile (for 40 years), with tinnitus. Tinnitus is brought on by hearing loss, especially high frequency. The best thing I have done  to my audio listening experience is invest in GOOD hearing aids. What has worked for me is ReSound Nexia, but there are a other brands to investigate, that musicians use. Drop the money on your hearing, not expensive gear. Perhaps investigate the NAD M33 integrated. I moved from Jeff Rowland Consummate/Model 2 into my Dunlavy SCIV's to the NAD M66/M23 and I love it. I hated digital and class D amps until recently, but technology has marched on. Good hearing aids will eat up a bunch of your budget, but will help in many other ways. 

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