Integrated amp: Component weight

Hi @cundare2 !  Have you considered the Mola Mola Kula?  I have the Makua with onboard Tambaqui and it is excellent.  While I  did sell my matching Kaluga amps in favor of Audionet Max amps, the newer class D in the Kula really do sound nice for a one box light package, and you can get it with the Tambaqui inside. Put a Grimm MU1 streamer and Roon Core in front of it and there you go. I still like your Ayre option but I agree the Devialet is a bit weird.  :)

@fastfreight

I’m embarrassed to admit that I didnt' remember hearing anything about Mola Mola, but a quick Google refereshed my memory.  At first glance, it looks like a Makua preamp paired with, say, a Devialet might do everything I need, other than, possibly, streaming.  I'll continue to investigate. At this early stage, I'm not even sure of pricing, much less specs.  I see Herb in Stereophile liked the Mola Mola DAC.

Thanks for the heads-up re: a company that almost slipped through the cracks.

@fastfreight

OK, I dug a little into the Mola Mola line and, really, it looks pretty terrific in more than one way. Howevere, I can’t seem to find a price list. There are a few reviews of individual components that list a purchase price at the time of the review, but I can’t find much in the way of current pricing.

UPDATE

I still can't find a current price list, but my gut feeling is that Mola Mola gear is out of my price range. DAC + pre-amp came in close to $30K a couple of years ago.

Worse, this Dutch company's presence in North America is spotty. The company Web site lists only one NA "appointment-only" distributor/dealer that doesn’t list pricing, or much of anything useful that isn’t already on the MM Web site. No idea how service works -- ship back to the Netherlands?

Really, really nice-looking products (at least on paper), but probably not a good fit.

I can understand that...I feel that way (biased) about some amazing gear from other countries.  But I say nothing spotty here.  Bill Parish at GTT has fantastic service and most of all knowledge.  Just talk to him.  I think the Makua w Tambaqui is the sweet spot, save a stand alone Tambaqui.  So many people have these and love them.  Getting the Makua lets you play with different amps now and later.  And the Makua is visually stunning.  I only stream, no vinyl or other inputs, but still I love the preamp w DAC.  If you have an issue, Bill will take care of you. It takes a much more expensive preamp to best the Makua, and the internal Tambaqui is exactly the same as their stand alone Tambaqui.  And together it is a value if you consider yourself getting a DAC like the Tambaqui :)

@fastfreight

No, it just isn’t a good fit. Now that GTT has sent me a price list, I find that a Mola Mola system would cost 50% more than what I’m looking to spend. And even if that wasn’t the case, I don’t see it satisfying the connectivity requirements I outlined in my original post. So I’ll have to pass, unfortunately.

I have to say that GTT was very responsive & professional. It seems like a great outfit to work with.  Wish we could have done business together this time.