Best multi channel amp and processor good for 2 channel listening.

I heard the latest Mark Levinson stuff at RMAF.  The Levinson is part of the very smoothed over and liquidy type of sonic signature.  It's really hard to describe to people unless they have heard this.  There are many other amps that have this same type of sonic signature.  Your Krell S1500 is going to sound clean and neutral in comparison (although the S-1500 can definitely slant toward the bright side at times).  Actualy, the new Krell sliding bias amps have this smooth/liquidy character as well.

The other side of the fence is the FET type warmth, where you have amps such as Pass Labs, Parasound, Marantz.  Etc.  The Vincent amps with tube input stage are also very warm sounding.  It's really hard to recommend equipment to people unless they have heard these sounds and have a good idea of what they want. lol.  I mean, there are a lot of people who can say "Mark Levinson is great", but it really comes down to personal preference.

Alternatively, if you want to keep on the "neutral" type of sound, but get something better than your Krell S-1500, you could look at things like Gryphon, Soulution, Esoteric (though Esoteric can definitely come across as somewhat sterile in some systems).  The previous generation Krell Evolution series was also very neutral, though getting old now.

Auxinput,

Did you look at my post from 5/5/19? I already mentioned the Intergrades I am considering. Also, don’t want to mix my Intergrade music amp conversation with my HT. I want to keep my music side warm, tube like, but my HT very detailed, clear, punchy, all needed for movie sound, reason why I am separating the two. I believe this is the best way to have the best of both worlds. By all my research, I don’t believe that one pre/amp combo can provide that 100%.

@maguiar102 - sorry, I have not examined every post in detail.  I did go back and re-read your 5/5 post.  It does become confusing because I don't know if you are intending the integrated to be part of a completely different system or if you want to wrap the integrated into your HT system using a "hybrid" approach (i.e. taking left/right output from processor and essentially using the integrated as a left/right channel amplifier).  That being said, I do have the following comments:


Pass Labs Int250 - this is a FET based warm sounding amp, but with good resolution.  It has a very pleasant and very controlled type of sound - the dynamics and slam are not as much as other amps.  If you want a very pleasant listening experience with good resolution, this is potentially a good choice, but I would look elsewhere if you want a more exciting sound.  I would put Pass Labs like a very neutral tube sound with excellent resolution and a definite FET based warmth signature.


Mark Levinson 585 - very smooth and liquidy, like I said.  I would not say this is a "tube like" amp at all.  It follows more of a high bias Class A bipolar amp sound.  Smooth and liquidy.  Again, it may be very hard to describe to someone unless they sit down with me and listen and then it's like "oh, that's what you mean by smooth and liquidy", lol.


Gryphon Diablo - The Gryphon room at RMAF was very nice.  Based on what I remember, the Gryphon is not as clean/neutral sounding as your Krell S-1500, but it is still neutral (maybe just a very tiny bit of the Class A smoothness, but not bad at all).  A very good contender.  Definitely not liquidy sounding.


Hegel H590- I heard the H590 at RMAF.  To be honest, it sounded very sterile and "solid state" with that harsh sterile edge (at least to my ears).  I can't say that this is what Hegel normally sounds like, but that H590 could very well be a fresh-out-of-the-box amp and at that burn-in stage where it sounds harsh/bad.  I don't have any experience with Hegel so I could not comment further.


Soulution 330 Int - I heard the Soulution amps at RMAF and this was one of those amps that I thought was very excellent.  Of course, it is so out of my price range that I would not consider it, but it had the very clean and neutral sound.  Think of a Krell S-1500 with a much more refined sound and no bright edge.  The 330 Int looks to be $20,100 retail.  Not sure if this is in your ballgame or not.

@Maguair, what are you looking for in terms of sound signature for your 2ch?

I just got the Luxman 509X, so not broken in, but initial thoughts are that it is more on the neutral side, not that warm.  It sounds fantastic, crisp yet sweet highs, mids are full, and tight bass.  With my MLs it is fairly transparent, so source is really important.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens when it settles a bit more.  It only has a few hours on it now.

I have heard the Diablo 300 and it is a great integrated and it slightly more on the warmer side.  Though for the price you are getting close to some great separates.  You could get the Luxman m900u + preamp for close to Diablo 300's price.  The m900u is the closest I have heard to combine the lushness of tube + power of ss.  This is with the usual caveat that it's a personal preference and it's all about synergy with speakers.