kennyc: I understand & thanks for the follow-up. Everything I've heard assures me that the Hegel would be a fine choice. The Ayre seemed to be an even better fit, and I think I"m committed to the EX-8 at this point, but I'm sure I would have been happy with either one.
Electronics for Harbeths -- $5-10K
I've been looking for an amp/preamp or integrated to pair with my mid-sized Harbeth speakers (86dB sensitivity, minimum 6ohm impedance, ~50Hz crossover to a powered sub).
I've dug deep into Pass Labs, ARC, Levinson, HiFi Rose, PrimaLuna, Ayre, MF's Nu-Vista line, Hegel, etc. -- the usual suspects. But I haven't found a perfect fit, b/c I have a few constraining requirements:
- weight not much over 40 pounds
- an HT Bypass input and at least 2 line-level outputs (for powered sub & headphone amp); no digital inputs required
- I love well-designed tube gear, but in this case, I'm restricted to SS
In terms of sound -- the most important factor, of course -- I rarely't exceed moderate listening levels in a smallish room (10 ft to seating position). I do, however, enjoy a large, three-dimensional presentation & uncompressed dynamics, and sonics more like the sweet, tubelike house sound of ARC & Pass than the "analytic" superdetailed sound of Luxman or Levinson (both outstanding companies, but just not the right fit in this case). One motivator is that after recently switching to more revealing Analysis Plus Silver Apex cables, I find I can no longer stand the sound of my last-gen Class D amps.
A Pass Labs XA25 amp + SP-12 pre combo comes pretty close, but doesn't have quite enough power. MF's new NuVista 800.2 would be perfect if it didn't weigh nearly 90 pounds.
Then there's Ayre's new VX-8 amp, or EX-8 integrated, sound great on paper, but which I know almost nothing about, aside from specs & a Stereophile review. Anybody own one of these?
I have no opportunity to demo any of this gear live -- disabled & don't get out much -- but if anybody would like to recount their first-hand experience finding a soulmate for Harbeth speakers, I'll be listening.
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Thus one should do http://www.audiodrom.net/en/integrated-amplifiers/detail/31-integrated-amplifiers/664-aesthetix-audio-mimas
AESTHETIX AUDIO Mimas review at audiodrom |
@cundare2 , if possible why not ask friends come over to help.
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honey0ooi: Thanks for the suggestions, but options like that are not available in my area. Anyway, at this point, I think I’ve already found an outstanding solution in the Ayre, which seems to be a near-perfect fit. Charlie Hansen’s clever "diamond" output-stage design philosophy (look it up) allowed the company to produce a 130/170wpc Class A/AB integrated that does just about everything one could ask for, and in a 24lb box -- even including a highly praised headphone amp and upgradable DAC that are reputed to be in a class with the separates that I was looking at. Yes, I’m still relying on other people’s opinions, but at this point, I wouldn’t consider this choice to be a compromise in any way, even when compared to the heavy hitters mentioned in this thread. So after this lengthy research project, in search of a component and system topology that would satisfy a painfully restrictive set of requirements, I think I’m finally set. <exhale> I should have a unit inhouse in a few weeks. $15K (including cables) is more than I’d planned to spend but, fingers crossed, I won’t be disapponted. |
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