My last Integrated Amp: $5-10,000?


I would like to hear recommendations regarding integrated amplifiers costing between $5-10,000. This will be my last amplifier for quite a while. I prefer to buy used when I can but also prefer no older that 2-3 years.  My speakers are likely to change every couple of years and I may keep more than one pair.

I like a detailed and transparent sound with air and the ability to easily to pick out the location of the instruments/singers.   I have liked the class A that I’ve heard and I’ve liked the tubes that I’ve heard but I don’t want to mess with tubes.  Also, I do not want a streaming device and I’d rather not have a built in DAC but I can live with it. 

My music preferences are vocals and 70-90s rock. 
So far I have identified the following possibilities that are available.
Mark Levinson: No 585 at $8400 and ML-5805 at $6550.  The latter is a new model and I have read that there have been teething problems. I don’t know if ML have corrected this situation. 
Luxman L-590AXII $7250  has a good reputation and longevity but is relatively low powered.

McIntosh MA5300, Coda CISB, and Gryphon Diablo 120 are also possibilities if available.

chinook9

let me chime in add kudos for krell

over the years i have had excellent and then terrible experiences with krell amps and integrateds... recently, very good experiences again

as a general rule i think the ’ksa’ series, fpb, evo of class a/ab amps are excellent

if good sound (as well as awesome power) is the priority, i would steer clear of any ’kav’ series (there are many of them)... they sound hard and strident (maybe fine for sizzle boom home theater but not for natural 2 channel imo)

since the s series (s-300i s-550i) to the newer ’k’ series, i think the best of krell is back and these are absolutely in the same class as other top players in this class - nuanced sound, delicacy with power, natural timbres, a touch of warmth, ultra refined treble, excellent spatial re-creation...

among these, the s series are the best buys of the bunch, they were excellent designs but assembled in china, so some will poo-poo that (100% their loss if they feel this way) -- i picked up an s-550i locally and it is simply superb and a wonderful value in the used market... tremendously satisfying, simply lovely with my big maggies...

Some excellent SS ones

HEGEL H390

Krell Foundation 4k with box AND PAPERS

The tube I would get. Tube warmth/tone different than SS. This has plenty of power too.

Rogers High Fidelity EHF-200 MK2 Integrated Tube Amplifier LIFETIME WARRANTY SOLD DIRECTLY FROM ROGERS WITH CERTIFICATION

Also selling a KT88 if you call them decently you'll save the 13% ebay charges, Hint hint. The KT88 runs off iPad or iPhone too.

 

There's a Gryphon Diablo 300 just listed (not by me, and no affiliation) on another popular high end website for $9750. In your price range, I'd probably jump all over that. The Boulder 866 is another good choice. I had one for a couple of years and thought it was excellent.

 

 

There are quite a lot of good options in that budget range.  In addition to what has been suggested, there are also some Accuphase offerings (E-280, E-380), as well as the Cary Audio SI-300.2d.

I run a McIntosh MA5200 and its fantastic for me.  It does everything I need plus I love the way it looks.  I ran Krell's before and they were great too.