Recommended integrated amplifier for upgrade

@pesky_wabbit

It is hard to get around the point that people that do have $50k worth of testing equipment and do reviews probably have that equipment from their day job.

But I have the XTZ EDGE A2-300 that I bought last year to try in my studio and it pushed everything else in there into storage. Got it on a Black Friday deal for under $400 delivered. It only gets better when you put a better DAC and preamp in front of it. A/B ing it with my AHB II with my Benchmark DAC 2 and it's pre amp. It definitely is not the equal of the Benchmark yet; but, it is better than my Arcam surround sound receiver by quite a bit, when using the Arcam pre-outs and just judging the power amps side by side.

It’s not that it would replace the Luxman today, but these little monsters are getting really good at demonstrating that, they have the potential to be giant killers in the right hands. These digital ICE amps are after all, at the heart of PS Audio Stellar amps, and most other Class D high end products.

✌️

Check out the Hegel H390 or H590. Both have a slightly warm sound to them and have plenty of power for your Sonus Faber’s.  I have the H390 and am very happy with the sound with the KEF Reference 5’s.

All the best.

JD

It may be an opportunity to look into a Pass INT - xx, might be a match for SF.

Technics SU-R 1000 would be on my shortest list. Gorgeous looks, + modern GaN technology. I have owned a LSA 350 GaN amp for over a year, and love it, love it, love it. If the recording is warm you'll hear it in its glory. If the recording is not, you'll hear that too. But if all recordings sound warm, then it's a coloration.  Now you may like it, but it colors the really good recordings, too

I have and love the Pass Labs INT-25, but I wouldn't recommend it to drive the Sonus Fabers. An INT-250 def could and beautifully i'd imagine. I had an INT-250 driving a pair of JBL 4365s and loved it. I also really love Luxman - the 509x is great, I personally like the 590axII better (I have both) but once again Im just not sure how it'll drive those Fabers. The 509x on the other hand would have no issues and the first 8 watts are class A. As for Mcintosh, Im really diggin the sound signature of their new stuff - mostly solid state though. Ive heard the hybrids and idk they just aren't there. A bit muddy. My opinion. That being said I loved the MC462 with a schiit freya+ driving it. The MC462 also sounded great with a c2700 in front of it. One combo i wish i had kept - it felt so overwhelming though - so many meters and glass lol. I have a MA9500 on order now. Maybe that's an option for you - god knows it's gorgeous. Lastly Musical Fidelity has a really rich warm but clean and articulate sound - I would def check them out if you want quality and don't want to break the bank. They have some killer integrateds. And if you do decide to go Audio research - I LOVED my Gsi75. Another one i wish I had kept. Good luck on the search and please post what you end up getting.