Wow, I recently owned all three of that last grouping. They are all excellent with their own flavor. Sphinx was meaty and substantial sounding with the tubed pre amp . Naim sounded as lively as advertised but is minimal in the input dept. the Elex was outstanding in all respects plus a fine phono section. To me it edges out the rogue by a hair. However, I was duly impressed with the sound quality of all three. It is a matter of features at that point. BTW, I felt the Elex sounded better to me than the elicit, in my system anyway.
Mid grade Integrated amp choices
Currently, I have a Rotel A12, which is decent, but I am ready to upgrade. My other equipment is a Bluesound Node 2, Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit turntable, and Sonus Faber Chameleon T speakers with Nordost cabling throughout. At first, I was going to upgrade speakers, but after home auditioning the Dynaudio Contour 20's and Focal 1008 Be's, I felt that my integrated was the weakest link currently.
So, I have been auditioning a few amps (several at home) for the last few weeks. So far, I have home auditioned:
NAD 388 (with the BluOS card) - Class D gives weight to bass, but otherwise, it's just okay
Simaudio Moon ACE - Nice, certainly better than the Rotel, very good warranty and build
Simaudio Moon 340i - Seemed too boomy with bass and a little brittle on the top end
Bryston b60r - Nice, really good sound. Great warranty
Plinius Hautonga - Blew me away. Yes, the 200 watts may have had a lot to do with it. But, the soundstage was huge and everything was so detailed.
I will be dealer auditioning this Friday:
Rega Elex -R
Rogue Sphinx
Naim 5si
Anyone have any experience with the Rega, Rogue or Naim against the Plinius? I don't know if I want to spend that much on an integrated right now and am hoping that one of the ones I am auditioning Friday will blow me away. Thoughts? Comments?
-Brian
So, I have been auditioning a few amps (several at home) for the last few weeks. So far, I have home auditioned:
NAD 388 (with the BluOS card) - Class D gives weight to bass, but otherwise, it's just okay
Simaudio Moon ACE - Nice, certainly better than the Rotel, very good warranty and build
Simaudio Moon 340i - Seemed too boomy with bass and a little brittle on the top end
Bryston b60r - Nice, really good sound. Great warranty
Plinius Hautonga - Blew me away. Yes, the 200 watts may have had a lot to do with it. But, the soundstage was huge and everything was so detailed.
I will be dealer auditioning this Friday:
Rega Elex -R
Rogue Sphinx
Naim 5si
Anyone have any experience with the Rega, Rogue or Naim against the Plinius? I don't know if I want to spend that much on an integrated right now and am hoping that one of the ones I am auditioning Friday will blow me away. Thoughts? Comments?
-Brian
- ...
- 53 posts total
- 53 posts total