Warmth is in the ear of the beholder. The Hegel while having superb resolution is not an ice cold amp. I found the Hegel I have listened to to lean to the warmer side but not by much.
Best used integrated for under $5000
All
I am in the process of building a new dedicated stereo system and looking for both speakers and an integrated. For speakers as of right now I am leannng towards either used Rockport Atria (if I can find one) or Focal Sopra 2 (if no Atria comes around in 6 months).
I am am moving to NY in 6 weeks and therefore don’t really know what the room dimensions will be.
Sound I like :
1. A tad bit warm while still having a lot of punch (nothing muddled about it)
2. Vocals (Diana Krall, John Mayer etc) have a level of cleanliness to it
3. Guitar (Gipsy kings, Jesse cook) sound airy without being lean
4. It may be related to my first point above; forgiving of average source (eg high quality Spotify streaming, which isn’t that high quality after all )
Most of my source will be Tidal and strong preference for integrated amps with a built in DAC. Even better if the unit has a streamer as well. Otherwise I am planning to use Google chrome cast (is that a bad idea).
As of right now my list has Hegel h360, Lyngdorf and Moonaudio 340i.
I am planning to buy used. That means new prices probably could be as high as $10000.
It would be great to get some recommendations.
I am in the process of building a new dedicated stereo system and looking for both speakers and an integrated. For speakers as of right now I am leannng towards either used Rockport Atria (if I can find one) or Focal Sopra 2 (if no Atria comes around in 6 months).
I am am moving to NY in 6 weeks and therefore don’t really know what the room dimensions will be.
Sound I like :
1. A tad bit warm while still having a lot of punch (nothing muddled about it)
2. Vocals (Diana Krall, John Mayer etc) have a level of cleanliness to it
3. Guitar (Gipsy kings, Jesse cook) sound airy without being lean
4. It may be related to my first point above; forgiving of average source (eg high quality Spotify streaming, which isn’t that high quality after all )
Most of my source will be Tidal and strong preference for integrated amps with a built in DAC. Even better if the unit has a streamer as well. Otherwise I am planning to use Google chrome cast (is that a bad idea).
As of right now my list has Hegel h360, Lyngdorf and Moonaudio 340i.
I am planning to buy used. That means new prices probably could be as high as $10000.
It would be great to get some recommendations.
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- 60 posts total
Thank you everyone. It’s never going to be an 100% agreement on what people recommend. But seems like I was going in the right direction with Hegel. Hegel 360 is likely to be $3000-$3500 range for used vs $7000-$7500. I am pretty sure I don’t want to spend $7000 on Pass, mostly because I don’t think I have a nuanced enough hearing (vs a very nuanced pallete 😀). But may try that anyway. |
About one year ago I bought a Moon 600i, and I have Focal L&R Utopia Be loudspeakers. I have not heard the Sopras so don't know how they would compare, but the 600i with my Focals had (what I consider) a rather warm sound. I spent most of the past year fine tuning the system for my taste. Things I did include plugging the speaker ports, speaker and I/C cable changes, swapping different power cables around, Furutech GTX-D (R) outlets and most recently a SR Blue fuse for the 600i. I am very happy with the sound of my system now and although the 600i doesn't have any digital capabilities, if you can live without that I think you could find it in your price range and worth consideration. Gary |
REGA OSIRIS ....highly recommended better still....try a dealer audition and be prepared to be wowed http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/rega-isis-cd-player-osiris-integrated-amplifier-tas-213/ http://audiofi.net/2012/08/rega-osiris-punching-heavy/ http://www.audiopasion.com/fotos-genius/asw-genius-210-2/ |
- 60 posts total