user poll on seperates vs integrated

For many years I enjoyed separate preamp and stereo amps (VAC and Ayre mostly) that provided the power (separate power supplies?) for the speakers I was using at the time.  A little over a year ago I moved to a Gryphon Diablo 300 with its DAC module.  The Gryphon easily provides the power for my Rockport speakers and I was able to retire multiple sets of interconnects and power cables.  The main issue IMO with some integrated amplifiers is they do not have a robust power supply to drive hi end speakers.  There are many excellent high end integrateds being produced today but the goal is to obtain one at a cost that matches one's budget and thoughtfully matches the load it will be expected to drive.  

I’ve had separates for over fifty years and bought my first integrated in the end of ‘21.  I’ve been very happy with the Hegel H390, but I’m not using the streaming part and I’m not using the DAC.  I haven’t started looking yet, but it’s only a matter of time before I start looking for a couple of amps.

In general, the decision to separate amp and preamp sections is to keep high power components away from sensitive lower power components. For the same reason some people prefer separate power supplies as well. It makes it much easier for designers to shield from EM fields and associated distortion.

There have been many advances in stereo components.

You cannot measure with "price points" however for a couple reasons.

1. Many components that are selling for 7-10K are over priced. Ive opened some of these up and marvel at the audacity of some of the pricing placed on mediocrity. A standard steel casement costs about $40 and I’ve seen these on $11,000 integrateds

2. Tastes cannot be assimilated into subjective reasoning. I’ve heard higher priced separates I have not liked as much as a set of $4000 separates.

But that’s me and my tastes.

There are many integrateds that produce wonderful assimilation of recorded music. The question remains if these inte’s fulfill your tastes sufficiently enough to be gratifying to you.

For instance, I can’t listen to Hegel stuff as I find them fatiguing thru resolute speakers. They’re impressive at first and wow many in audio salons.

You and many others here might love Hegel. Not me.

Go with a name brand that consensus wise, seems to float many boats such as ARC, (Paragon is selling the renowned Vsi 75 for $6K where these things were once $10K), Belles Signature, Music Fidelity 6 series, etc.Ffor separates, I've always liked the Quick Silver stuff and they're not crazy money.

I like "natural sounding". Not embellished with too much distortion to round off highs for the sake of bass or weight. Nor do I like highs that border on the sterile. I go for correct timbres, appropriate sound stage for the recording I'm listening to and spectacular imaging. One Vsi 75 thru Pro Ac Studio 100's does this enough for me.

Try to find descriptions of the listeners taste in sound reproduction or else reviews are absolutely worthless otherwise.

All integrateds are a compromise, they have to be, and this could be a good or bad thing. No integrated that I know of has the exact same phono preamp guts of their best separates. Same for dac, preamp, and amp.

But the good thing about integrateds, they are cheaper and the sq/features might meet or exceed your needs for the money.