Having owned the Yamaha A-S3000, Pass INT-250, ARC GSI75, and Marantz PM10, the Yamaha would absolutely be my go to if I only needed 90 watts.
The Rogue Pharaoh is supposed to be pretty sweet, I bought a Belles Aria though and couldn't be happier. If 200wpc is needed I would go with the Belles Virtuoso Coming Soon | Audio Connection It's really sweet.
The Belles Aria is a fantastic sounding SS integrated for the price. With the HT bypass and good phono pre built in, its great do-it-all analog amp.
The all new Boulder 866 Integrated might be on your must hear list now! A Sonic Landslide - The Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier DAC/Streamer
Firts of all if my questions are out of place, feel free to troll me or tell me to piss off, but do it while or after answering a couple of my questions(things). ...Awesome forum and discussion guys...i read through it from begining to the end as I am in the process of purchasing an integrated amp right under 10k, I wanted to soak up any knowledge as honestly I have little to none, and research on high end is harder than I thought! I would love to get the Dynaudio contour 20i for my 3x4m room playing mostly hard rock and metal (8000 CDs collection) and would love an amplifier that could drive them good?...well? or even...awesome! I found a lot of nice amps that have enough power on paper but I can't ask no dealer without feeling pressured to buy the stuff that they sell and I honestly feel depleted and like **** whenever I leave a dealership. I do love a good build and for 10k I want it to be really nice. First I was oogling the new Denon pma a110 but there are no known reviews and on paper it looks that I might need a few watts more? Then I was checking out Simaudio 700i v2 ...lots of power but build quality for such and expensive unit (especially after I saw "How it's made" episode on Discovery) is meh...especially those hexagonal terminals in the back and the innards (stupid...I know, but still). Then I checked out Esoteric F05 and it checked out all my boxes for build and finish but I'm on the fence about power (240W into 4 ohms)? What are your thoughts or suggestions on my "thing"? So please...I can take any insult but just for the love of god give me some answers...I'm trully frustrated by this! Thank you!
@zeleknot -- have you considered a naim supernait 3 (integrated) or a naim uniti nova (integrated/streamer)? naim/dynaudio seems to be a good match according to the naim customer base. supernait 3 is $5k in the us, and the nova is $7.5k. at the higher end of your budget would be something like a pass labs, mark levinson, or luxman. i find the luxman l-509x a bit soft, so probably not the best match for the dynaudios.
@jcn3 Hi...thanks for your suggestion. Naim to me are visually not appealing but if they work I will consider them for sure. Pass labs INT 250 i would love to have, but I couldn't find a dealer near here...i will search some more! Thank you for the Luxman info though! I was seriously considering 509! Cheers. Z
@jcn3 oh and I was considering Mark levinson 5805 but then stumbled on some forum about its THD not being good and too much money for performance and a black hole of hate against it... basically I made a mistake of reading about it. PS if anyone else responds just know its midnight here and I'll respond in the morning...but thanks a million upfront!
I noticed The Vintage Knob added some more info about the Kyocera A-910. But not this "Probably one of the best and best-sounding1980s integrated amplifiers." The new stuff added was under "user". Kyocera A-910 on thevintageknob.org
I didn't go through the entire thread, but if the OP wants to go with Maggies he needs something high current like the Hegel or a Naim.
Probably been mentioned but the Anthem 225 is a serious beast. 225w, phono stage, sub out, balance, and tone controls with defeat. At $2k new it was a deal.. at $900 on the used mkt, even better. Mine is 9 years old and going strong. It has an analog-ish sound and can take any load presented to it. Tone controls are especially nice as I boost the treble a tiny bit in my very "soft" listening room
I did not read through the entire thread but I recently replaced a big Accuphase pre + power combo with an Audio Note Oto Phono SE Signature and I could not be happier. I have a cheap-ish DAC going into it but as I’m mainly a vinyl person this has been a tremendous change for the better and would get my vote. With the price of the AN Oto that would leave plenty cash for a nice DAC. This amp should of course be paired with efficient speakers but still sounded great to my ears with bookshelf speakers rated at 86db.
My own favorite is a Klein&Hummel VS71 ... but that’s from 1963 and unobtainable in the US. Why does it have to be an integrated? And for what exactly do you need the Watts? 120dB?? A Croft Pre- and Power Combination would be it ... Or as integrated an Octave 80se - yeah, buy a Tube Amp!
One of the best that I've heard to date: Riviera Labs Levante -- Hybrid Class A (tube pre section, solid state Class A amp section), incredible build quality as well Has a cool feature that allows you to run full Class A, or switch to Class A/B for more power demanding speakers. LEVANTE - Riviera
I think it's what works best in your system. I don't need a separate amp thanks to my speakers being actives and carrying a total of 325w per speaker (75/250 respectively). About a decade ago, just over, I used to have a pair if Mission 752 floorstanders, which were about £500 on release, and I paid these eventually with a Sansui AU-217 that's I'd picked up off Ebay for the grand sum of £33 serviced. Turned out to be one of the best setups I'd had and the 30w Sansui was a game changer. I think it's important not to look at the maximum what you could spend but focus on the gear available within that budget, often well within it. The most unexpected equipment could yield the most audio surprises. That said, I could find room for a Perreaux Eloquence 250i if I had to I guess...!
The Yamaha came out with a lot of legendary equipment like the SG-2000 guitar (Santana legendary tone). Yamaha CP-70. Phil Collins and other big name uses that keyboard. A lot more going all the way to a high dollar mixing boards. I don't know much about the Yamaha A-S3000 for I never own one besides I heard it in the demo. Its really deadly for its solid state category. Very clean and punchy. I was looking at the main components of the stereo which is the final section of the amp. Its actually a mosfet amp technology that goes all the way form the late 70's. I was able to build one from scratch when I was in high school. The characteristic of this amp circuit is probably in the top 3 solid state circuits. very hard to beat especially if you have the motorola J transistors or style. The old sony came out with the V-fets and there are still so many followers on this amp. Glad youre enjoying your amp. With the combination of your toroidal power supply and the mosfet technology, youll definitely surprise a lot of experienced enthusiast.
sporting the old Sonic Frontiers heritage I've had my eyes on an older Anthem 2 integrated, although a 225 would be better for me with those balanced inputs
Love the old ads. Reminds me of the good ole days. (1985) $499.00 for an entry level integrated amp (expensive) $1,500.00 +0.40 cents per minute Motorola mobile phone (very expensive) $4.25/hour minimum wage $0.70 per gallon of gas. $375.00 / month 2 bedroom appt. $0.67 loaf of bread (2020) $150.00 for an entry level integrated amp (very cheap) $150.0 iphone previous version with contract (very cheap) $11.25/hour minimum wage $3.25 per gallon of gas. $1,750.00 / month 2 bedroom appt. $4.25 loaf of bread
