Hegel H390. I am not bothered by the lack of Roon ready. While the internal DAC is good, my choice is to use an external streamer into a very good DAC (Terminator II), then xlr into the Hegel. Good synergy between the components. I am currently driving Salk HT3 speakers, which can be a bit power-hungry, but the H390 handles them with ease.
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Vinnie Rossi L2iSE..... The 300b's in the preamp section of his design are superb! I have had a few integrated amps, Rogue Audio, and lastly selling my Gryphon Diablo 300. My previous benchmark system was a McIntosh C500t tube preamp with MC501 mono blocks. This sounded excellent and very musical. But a large system, and I have down sized my residence. I wanted a minimalistic system that was very musical. I have PMC ib2i speakers with a Linn Klimax DSM streamer dac, and now with the Vinnie Rossi L2iSE integrated amp. My system sounds so dimensional, musical, and just right. I find it hard to pull myself away from listening sessions! I was not able to achieve the musical synergy I now have, with the Diablo 300 in my system. The Diablo sounded very good, but not the same musical caliber in my opinion. Hence I sold it after a year. The McIntosh two piece tube pre and mono blocks were very close, but I feel the 300b's in the Vinnie Rossi L2iSE give the "extra" ambiance and "musicality" only a large triode like the 300b's can. Highly recommended, and I have not even upgraded the 300b's in the Vinnie Rossi L2iSE to a superb pair of TAKATSUKI TA-300B Triodes or a new issue pair of Western Electric 300b's! |
McIntosh MA352 Integrated Amplifier Having said what I have above about my Marantz I was hoping someone might share their experiences and thoughts on the McIntosh MA352? If there are any owners out there? https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news/MA352-Hi-Fi-World It’s a non-autoformer, hybrid SS/Tube McIntosh integrated amp that has gotten really good reviews, but I’m not sure great sales? I love it’s retro looks! But does it sound as good as it looks? Did it lose its McIntosh house sound, for better or worse, not being an autoformer amp?Anyway it’s a very intriguing Integrated! Hopefully someone can give us their thoughts on it? |
Marantz PM-11s3 Beautiful, powerful Integrated that never ceases to amaze! Makes everything from Yo-Yo Ma to the Dirty Heads sound amazing! It’s fast and detailed, has all the slam and yet has that beautiful KI/Marantz house sound! Sadly it’s was KI’s and Marantz’s last A/B amp... Find one and get it if you can! |
The Harbeth SHL5+'s have a great midrange , extended treble and a dynamic range that can make for a very enjoyable listening experience. Almost everything you play on them sounds good.They also sound great at low volumes, which is tough for many speakers. In my system the Treo's are much more musically engaging. All of the great features of the Harbeth's plus a more coherent presentation that aligns well with my listening priorities. I suspect that there may be a more synergistic match with the Vandersteen's in my system. I live in a loft with 9 foot ceilings and the system is in my combination living, dining and kitchen area. A space about 20 x 30 feet. I listen to many types of music from classical to rock. I do not like jazz very much though I listen to a lot of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. t |
gsm - I got the Audio Refinement Complete for a friend who was looking for a good int amp as a present for his father in law. I got to audition it for about a week before I gave it to him, and man was I impressed! Ran super cool and areal pleasure to use, and a nice beefy 50 wpc to boot. His FIL was stepping up from a Rotel with Spica TC50’s. |
kdveteran - first & foremost - Thank you very much for your service! My Nephew was at Ft. Benning several years ago, I believe before being deployed to Afghanistan & then later at Ft Bliss. jjss49 - excellent post; couldn’t agree more with your earlier post. This hobby has been incredibly fun, especially the last 7 years since I’ve been divorced. On Integrated Amps: Right now I’m getting ready to move overseas in 3 weeks and I’m in this shoe box sized British integrated phase. Currently, I have a Linn Majik I (orig shoe box version) and a Meridian 551 to match a Meridian 504 tuner in 2 separate rooms. I recently just sold an Acurus DIA100 (mkI) and gave my nephew a Music Fidelity B1. I’m using Monitor Audio R700MD’s on the Linn & ProAc Super Tablettes on the Meridian Other SS integrated amps I really liked were: Onix OA21S & OA20/2 Tandberg 3012, & Creek 4330. I also had an Onix OA60, but I liked the earlier shoebox sized Onix’s better. I also had a Creek 5050 years ago, but think the 4330 is probably better I’m a tube guy at heart and I fully agree with an earlier comment from someone touting the virtues of running pentodes in SE. I had the 5/15 wpc SET/SE pentode ASL MG15siDT which runs KT88’s and thought it was spectacular. should have never sold it. Also, a GemTune GS-01 (EL34 in SE Ultralinear) was surprisingly very impressive with an upgraded Alps vol control & tube rolling. |
Creek Destiny v1. It sounds the same as my previous NAD and Naim amps - just a little more powerful (100wpc into 8ohms) and heavier to lift. It seems to be full of capacitors inside. I initially thought it sounded smoother (and more "organic" - Rob J Reina) as described in an old Stereophile review - until I directly compared it. In fact it sounded remarkably similar to its predecessor. Its microprocessor circuits are a pain in the neck and I wish it had some way of power limiting the output to protect my Tannoy Berkeley's, but I can see no other good reasons to change it whilst it's still working. https://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/107creek/index.html |
this has been a good thread, but at this point, it seems like a market research tabulation of what is out there in people's systems, irrespective to the applications, features, and performance parameters desired ... not sure it is all that useful for someone seeking directional input as a buyer as the playing field is so incredibly broad, it might be helpful to break out by some useful segmentations/characteristics such as power output tube v solid state 'standard' old school integrated (line stage + power section) vs full meal deal (dac, phono, dsp, streaming....) and of course, price level having a thread include a ps audio sprout @$500 vs a $12000 gryphon 300 vs a $5000 lta berning circuit tube unit is a broad broad waterfront... |
My CODA CSiB V3 is a good match with
Thiel CS2.4 Btw, the CSiB comes with 3 versions V1: 150 Watts per channel Class AB into 8 Ohms, 300 Watts per channel Class AB into 4 Ohms, Class A ~18 Watts V2: 250 Watts per channel Class AB into 8 Ohms, 500 Watts per channel Class AB into 4 Ohms, Class A ~12 Watts V3: 400 Watts per channel Class AB into 8 Ohms, 800 Watts per channel Class AB into 4 Ohms, Class A ~8 Watts |
@three_easy_payments The CODA CSiB drove my very hard to drive Thiel CS3.7 with great results. Those speakers go down to 2 Ohm. It was a better match than my Benchmark AHB2 in stereo and mono. I sold the CSiB and bought the CODA 07x and #8 amp. Which I do find even better sounding but it cost 2x more. |
Got a Creek Evolution 50a a couple of years ago through Agon, and absolutely love it. It has responded well/in kind to every speaker and equipment upgrade so far. It’s now driving Quads2’s. Neutral, sweet, airy, good bass, great stage and placement…and still exhibits cajones when needed. Want to now add on a Sequel phone board, curious if it will perform as well as well a comparatively priced outboard phone stage 👍🏼🙏🏼 |
Have had a Quicksilver Integrated Amplifier by Mike Sanders for just a couple of days, and not sure I'll get over the "wow!" * All tube, musical. * Rated at 20 watts both 8 ohms and 4 ohms, drives Focal Aria 906s just fine. The speakers are quoted at 89.5 dB sensitivity and 25-120 watts. I listen at moderate volume in 3.8 m x 5.26 m room, which means the knob is typically around 10:30 o'clock. * The detail from this setup is excellent. The proportions of midrange, treble, and bass suit my taste. * Solid construction, point-to-point, U.S. made, and a good price. * It might save me a room heater this winter. ;) http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/integrated-amplifier/ |
Main integrated is a Cary SLI-50. Sounds really great with both my Cornwalls and my ESL-57's Bought it new waaaay back and have a hard time imagining letting it go. Also have a Heathkit SA-3 EL84 based integrated that runs in SET. Its being rebuilt and is causing me some grief and has been on my bench for a bit. Last is a Marantz 1030 that I've rebuilt/recapped that I use for my TV. Sweet sounding little amp. Does the job :) |
Have been using a VAC Sigma 160i SE for several years, driving Nola KO speakers. It's a fabulous combination, delivering the most dimensional, open sound I've ever had, with the speakers simply GONE. Just bought a used Hegel H190 to use in a new system built around KEF R11 speakers. Don't have it set up yet, but the Hegel sounded FANTASTIC in a friend's system, driving Tektons. |
Hello The Coda is a very smooth but dynamic amplifier I have 18 1st watts in pure class A then 150,8 ohms 300,4 ohms I use modded Elac Vela speakers 86 db , and tried on my brothers spatial audio open baffle X3 speakers 97 db efficient as well as Wilson Sabrina X speakers which sounded incredibly good,with Bricasti front end. and did fabulous in both great microdynamics deep image depth and large Soundstaging . And bettered the $10 k Passlams 60 integrated amp , the 3kva gives it incredible current on demand my friend drives hisMaggi 3.7 with ease ,all coda can be sent in for any one of 3 power outputs. |
@audioman58 The Coda sounds interesting but would likely be a poor match with my Devore speakers. What speakers are you using with it? It sounds like a much different take on a Pass amp with specs like 400 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms, 800 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms, yet only operating in Class to 5W. I'd be very curious to give a Coda a listen. |
