Experience with today's hi-end integrated amplifiers?

first post here ....

i recently joined and you guys all seem like a really great group of people! happy to contribute where i can but I'm looking forward to learning from you and other users.

imo, the Audio Note Jinro (assuming you have adequate speakers (anything AN or related)) is pretty much about as good as you are going to get without spending 2-3x the price. this amp, i assure you, is nothing short of stunning. this integrated carves out a massive soundstage and instruments take on a sense of realism and vocals have a palpability i had not heard before, from anything. once you hear AN stuff everything else is almost static and can sound broken by comparison. but again, this is just my opinion.

i have owned a couple different ARC integrated amps over the years and they are fantastic as well. the new ARC designs with the KT-120/150 sound really nice ... loads of deep bass with a rich midrange and airy highs.

i have also spent some time with the boulder 865 ... meh?

interestingly enough, i have also heard the Yamaha 2100 and it is quite good. it doesn't sound like a transistor amp at all. with the right speakers it would satisfy a lot of people long-term. plus, it is so cool to look at with the front meters and wood paneling on the side and built like a tank!

 

Still a chance that Steve might be able to review that T+A, which I got the feeling would have the best chance to please a high end valve amp fan. If I get any updates, then I'll pass along.

Meantime, my current stereo is sounding far better than ever before. Truly remarkable, I think. My new power amp settled in really well. SACD player is brilliant. Shunyata Denali is a special component. Sincerely.

I did finally tweak my speakers with IsoAcoustics Gaia II footers. Everything has really snapped into place. Amazing resolution and dynamics. Tall, wide, and deep soundstage. Speakers really disappear, which is always relative. Well, all of these descriptions we try to use are relative. That's why it's pretty much impossible to communicate. If I'm able to find 2 or 3 local forum members who have an interest, then I'll try to have them give my current system a few listens. Would be valuable for us once amplification comparisons get going.

My plan is to upgrade power cords. I'm a bit more skeptical that the investment will be worth it. I'm sure my speakers have even more upside, but worth it at such a cost (at least in my room, etc)!? We'll see.

So, it will be a few months and then I'll be ready to find a Yamaha A-S3000 example.

 

And another Yamaha enthusiast! The un-solid stateness of this range of amps seems universally appreciated, which is awesome. Hats off to the designer!

 

Bump.

My stereo system overhaul is a few months from completion and then I plan to audition some SS integrated amps.

Hey @Steve Hoffman any word on getting the T+A integrated?

All others interested in this topic, please chime in!

 

Thought I'd bump this in the event some more of you have experience with modern hi-end integrated amps. Seems that the trend isn't merely a fad.

Please chime in!

 

In reading through the thread I didn't see any mention of Hegel. IMHO anyone looking for a quality integrated should at least have a Hegel on their to audition list. I bought a H190 about 18 months ago with some Dynaudio Contour 30s - this is a great combination, and the Hegel is integrated into the HT system through it's HT bypass. The Hegel is a bargain at CAD$4,500. These speakers could certainly handle more refined power so I'm thinking of upgrading to the new H390, or even the H590 (list CAD$13,500) if my dealer is feeling generous - both of these have been universally enthusiastically reviewed. I realize the Contours are harder to drive than your Focals. Hegel is not quite in the price range of Gryphon or top end T+A but outstanding value for money nonetheless.

 

My Focal stand mounts came to market in 2008 and I got mine a few years after. So I've been slowly upgrading going on 10 years and I'm confident I'll run out of money before the speakers no longer benefit from better electronics!

Another name missing is AVM. They have flagship integrated models A8.3 and A6.3.

 

You might consider the Simaudio Moon 700i V.2 in your search. About a year ago I came upon a great deal on a Simaudio 340i and was really happy with the sound. So happy I rolled the lower tier integrated amp over and bought a demo i7.

What a shock this i7 has been to my system. It doesn't matter which speaker I use it with, it sounds wonderful. Definitely the best piece of gear I've had the luck to own.

 

Thought about going for a combined SACD player/pre-amp, but my MPS-5 is really nice. Zeroed in on it's successor, MPS-8, which has analog volume. Far too pricey, unfortunately. I bet the sound is out of this world!

So, back to plan A. The AVM Ovation A6.3 has a DAC, which rules that unit out for me. But I am curious about the design. Is 180 amperes of current (20 Mosfets) more than average for a SS 200 watt stereo power amplifier? Seems to have some decent power biased to Class A as well.

Any thoughts?

 

The couple integrateds I've owned that are class-A biased smoothed over the leading edge bite of live music. Of course all stereo playback sounds at least somewhat artificial but a class A bias can sound excessively smooth IME. These integrateds are not in the same class as those you're considering so maybe it's not applicable, but I know of others who've come to similar conclusions and even find it fatiguing.

 

Since this thread started I have acquired the Vitus R-101 and it is very, very, very good and makes me very, very, very happy and the music sound very, very, very good indeed. Suits me.

I like the excessive power and the sound is just, errrrrrrr, musical and detailed enough to hear new things or a greater sense of an instrument in the recording space without being "over-detailed".

No, not remotely in the top 1% - couple of very well-paid pieces of work post-retirtement, lots of saving and no kids.

 

I retired my integrated TeddyPardo i80a from the living room setup but I'm going to keep it because I'll probably use it in another room. The i80a served me well and is an excellent piece of kit showing Teddy knowledge of designing excellent power supplies and attention to sound quality. I was thinking about buying a NAIM SUPERNAIT 2 at the time when I managed to get the i80a from Teddy for a weekend and I never regretted the decision to keep the i80a.

Anyway, now I have a spare integrated stereo amplifier, a 3x4sqm room and for the moment I have no clear idea what to do with it.

 

Use it as an amp for the RAAL SR1a
SR1a - raalrequisite

 

This is a close to 2 year old thread being revived a bit but separates are better than integrated amps - although not necessarily for the same price.

And it's kind of pointless comparing a SS integrated amp and a SET - there is no SS integrated that sounds the same as an 8 watt 300B SET integrated amplifier. And since they don't sound the same it can be somewhat subjective as to what sounds better - and indeed, it may also depend on the speaker - the 300B may be better with one speaker and the SS may be better on another.

I was thinking about this recently as I reviewed the PureAudio One class A 100 Solid state amp ($10,000 no phono stage) and the Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister 300B integrated amplifier 8 watt Single Ended Triode Class A ($13,000 with a phono - don't know the price without).

The former allows you to run pretty much any speaker outside true power hogs and you will get terrific sound with all of them, The Meishu seriously cuts down which speakers you can run - 90dB speakers in a smaller room to maybe 94dB in a medium room and 98dB in a larger room. Albeit here if you have these sorts of speakers - the SET magic is hard to beat.

So sidestepping the SET versus SS amp thing - keeping just to SS - I think the OP would be hard-pressed to get a better sounding (for music) amplifier than the Pure Audio One. This isn't to say there isn't better - it does have a direct in connection which allows for the addition of an external preamp and both my M3 tube preamp and Pure Audio's Preamp improved things rather a lot. But this generally illustrates that separates are better. But you are essentially doubling the price by adding a preamp of similar dollars.

I have not been a fan of integrated amps that are not class A. Accuphase I would need a full audition on my system to be sure but from what I have heard in the past they have shown potential. But their Class A amps do not possess a lot of power into 8 ohms so some audiophiles looking at big SS power may be less impressed - however they're stable to 1 ohm with some big numbers (many high watt amplifiers at 8 ohms are not stable to 1 ohm and will shut down if they try. Accuphase will drive and Apogee Scintilla all day every day no problem - A Bryston will not. Plus unlike the amplifiers from Momentum - Accuphase look classy not hideously tacky 70s mobsters and pimps.

 

Nice!!!! Congratulations. I'd sure like to find a member here much closer to my region with this component.

 

SS is my interest, specifically, by I'm sure others who check in may want to consider SET.

Will look into Pure Audio One!

 

such an integretad... I only could buy one at the SecondHand market.
Perhaps.
Maybe... no.. I don't even think so... :-(

 

Mine is not as big or expensive (MA6600), however i “downsized” from separates to an integrated a few years ago and could not be happier. However, as the MA6600 does not have a DAC, had to add DAC (ie, another box).
“She who must be obeyed” and I are looking at transitioning to a townhome in the next few years so a small footprint in important.

 

Nope. Not going to happen. There is absolutely nothing in the design of the SR1a that makes me want to put them on my head over my ears.

 

Dagogo Pure Audio One

Thanks, Richard.

 

Not really super high end, but I have a ma5300. It works great, does everything I want, and sounds great. I really like the all-in-one thing about it. I just hook up my tv and laptop, hook up speakers, and enjoy.

 

Separates also involves an extra $3,000, more or less, for power and interconnect cables. No rationale for skimping on cables with hi end electronics. Too much invested to miss out on uncompromised performance, so I will always factor this into a budget.

 

Thank you! Aye, it's a bit of a hike from Pittsburgh to Northumberland...

 

Can’t decide if that Pure Audio amp looks cool or ugly . Different for sure