At the $3K price point I'm inclined to suggest what I know best: a Cary SLI-80 with a compliment of NOS tubes.
There are a couple of good threads on AgoN on the subject of tube rolling the Cary. Something they don't mention are the new production Genalex Gold Lion KT-88s. They are highly recommend for the Cary.
A used SLI-80, a full set of good NOS tubes and Genalexs will bring you in just under budget. |
Conrad Johnson CAV50 one the best and classic EL34 based designs, with proprietary CJ caps and built to last.
Oh yeah it sounds magical.
I had a Cronus that I purchased new from a local dealer and the CJ that I purchased second hand on the 'gon is a considerably better sounding amp. |
Rogue Audio Cronus................For my ears, within my system and musical tastes, and in my room...........It's perfect. |
I auditioned the cronus and tempest, both sound really good,I'd have to give the tempest the edge in sound.The tempest was making the maggie 1.6's sing! Have you thought about the Manley stingray, especially if you listen to rock music. I have to agree with above poster about picking your speakers first. |
I would second the PrimaLuna recommendation, I have the Dialogue 2 myself, and have compared it with the Rogue's, which I found very bright. The PrimaLuna line will be warmer, with a bigger soundstage and better imaging and resolution of instrumental timbres. This is, as I said, in comparison to the Rogue line, I have not had the chance to listen to Cary, and some of the others mentioned. |
I have owned the Cary SLI-80 (twice), ARC VSi 55 & Rogue Cronus (max hot-rodded by Rogue) & the Cary is way better than those 2, in my rig that is. The ARC & Rogue seem to have more drive or balls but that's where it ends. |
I have owned Cary SLI-50 (twice), SLI-80 (3 times), Rogue Tempest 2 (twice), and heard Cayin A-88T many times. Look wise, I will pick Cary or Cayin, but sound wise I will pick Rogue which is more dynamic w/o losing the tube magic. it's also more neutral than Cary or Cayin.
a shameless plug. I will soon be selling my Tempest II to free up space since I still have two spare amps, a spare pre, and a spare table. |
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Save up a little more money and try out a Grant Fidelity Rita 880 Reference.... |
I wouldn't look for a random amp and then try to pair speakers to it. This seems like a huge waste of energy. I could understand this approach if you listened to five 300B amps with different speakers and the 300b sound was "The One."
I suggest listening to ten different speaker brands and narrowing it down from there. Pair the top three speakers you like with different amps and select something from there. You will like something about a certain speaker like the tonal quality, dynamics, speed, spacial qualities, etc. You may hear lines that you can't afford but at least you will understand what speakers can do. This will matter the most IMO.
Again, I could see going in this direction if you were getting a SUPER deal on something like an ARC LS26 and ref 210 amp and wanted to build a system because you just couldn't turn down the deal/quality. Otherwise I would consider the speakers more important than an ordinary $2500 integrated amp.
Good luck. |
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I just recently purchased the Rogue Cronus with magnum upgrade (total cost $2200)- it is a very well built and wonderfully musical sounding amp - hadn't heard it before ordering, and for me glad that I got it. The upgraded amp comes with NOS 12au7 & 12ax7s and EH KT90s , though you can still use EL34s. Upgrade pushes max wpc from 55 to 90. I am using it with Tyler Acoustic Linbrook System 2s |
you could buy an Audio Note Meishu for about 3K (without phono) and experience 300B magic with 8 extremely robust watts per channel |
I am very happy with my Audio Space 3.1 Ref. with KT88's. Mates very well with my Von Schweikert speakers. Be prepared to retube to get the best out of this amp. The big surprise for me was how good the phono stage is. Good luck. |
I'm very happy with my Primaluna PL2 can take a variety of tubes from kt88 to el34's. Easy to use and maintain. Use Triangle Comete's with them. |
Our local audio group recently did an evening of comparative listening with several integrated amps. The Cayin HA-80 and A50T integrated amps were very well received by those in attendance. We did not listen to Rogue, Audio Space or Mastersound.
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