Integrateds: Why do they all SUCK?

Ever consider a MANLEY Stingray? 

Try TOL vintage Japanese. Lyman, Kenwood Supreme, Sansui, Accuphase, and Pioneer all have the things you desire. They will simply need a complete refurb. A good refurb should run $500 +. Enjoy.

I’m trying to find a HIGH QUALITY integrated that has:
1. A no-corners-cut real class A - A/B power stage.
2. A real, high quality analog preamp line stage.
3. A good phono stage.

Aside from a few very high end products, the above described integrateds seem not to exist. Why can’t I find a quality integrated? Do we just have to accept having a pile of boxes?

I guess you never heard of the Parasound Halo Integrated. 160/270 wpc into 8 and 4 ohms, respectively. Has well-reviewed DAC and MC/MM phono stage.

Stereophile Class A recommended component. Priced at $2495, it is thousands of dollars less than anything else in that category.

The plain and simple FACT is that we are living in an age of absolute reference quality sound coming from compact and fairly priced all in 1 solutions and anyone that either does not or can not recognize that fact is condenmed to a life of "everything sucks" and they deserve it!!!

This topic, as submitted, is a good example of why some people think that high-end audiophiles are a bunch of jerks. So “all integrated amps suck” do they? Let's consider this issue as if we were talking about cars. I would hope most Audiogon Forum contributors would agree that there are integrated amps that perform at the level of a 3 Series BMW, or even of a Porsche Boxster. Many people enjoy those cars and are well pleased with them for their price range, even though they may not equal the performance or status of a McLaren. If you have the means to drive, say, a Pagani Huayra and then trade it in for a Bugatti Veyron, then good for you. But if you roll down your window at traffic lights to inform BMW drivers that their cars all suck, then you are just a jerk.