I would put Vinni and Modwright on my list if I was actively shopping in this price range. Several of my friends are amazed at what I spend on my stereo (which is well below what we are discussing in this thread). I normally tell them to look at their car outside, and look at mine (Accord)… there's the price difference that paid for the stereo. I generally say "everyone has dumb stuff they spend money on. This is my dumb stuff."
Well, I definitely have no complaints with my Pathos Inpol 2 hybrid tube pre-amp with SS class A power. It's 45w into 8ohm and sounds like it has the power of 200W+. It's Italian, so not likely to be common in the states, but prob in the region of $10K. Very big organic sound, great for real drums and rock guitar. IMG_9483 by Timbo21, on Flickr
There's a lot of great options to choose from in the price bracket set by the OP. I love the Hegel sound, and will upgrade my H190 to the H390 in the spring for the better DAC and more power. Can't stretch to the H590 unfortunately.
Dynaudio Contour 30s which are a great match with Hegel - they love power, hence the temptation to go for the H390 upgrade. The Hegel is very neutral, doesn't add anything just reproduces the music faithfully. Great clarity, poise, control of bass, but punch if you want to crank it. Really brings out the best in good recordings, especially high-res. The DAC is also excellent, even better in the 390/590.
Sounds you and I have experienced the same sickness!! Here is a list of integrateds I've owned in the last few years some $10,000+ some less VAC 160I , VAC 160I SE, Luxman 590, Leben CS300X, Mystere, Line Magnetic 518ia, Prima Luna Prologue, BMC CS2 and the Einstein the Absolute Tune among others Trying to chase down the ultimate system and namely integrated amplifiers is an impossible task. Cost sure doesn't always equal better sound, the Raven Audio Black Hawk actually is the one I've liked the best out of all of them and it is much less than most on my list.
Jadis I-50 50 watts of class A ultra refined power with 4-KT150s. Jadis transformers are exceptional and part of the reason for their desirable sound. This thing will drive any speakers made with more authority than a 300 WPC solid state amplifier and sound colorful and ultra sweet and transparent while doing it. Bass slam and articulation is incredible and the best I have ever heard.
i owned the nighthawk and blackhawk and they sounded excellent. i heard the osprey at a dealer and it had such a sweet golden tone. very nice sounding amplifiers and compete with anything in terms of sound quality.
Hope you find an opportunity to home demo Pass Labs INT and that Pure Audio One mentioned earlier. Might also be informative to reach up market to Gryphon Diablo 300. Beyond that, there is T+A PA 3100HV.
To the OP: your mission with a budget of $10K is just a great place to be. This is a very exciting arena to be in. There are a lot of choices here with very attractive solid used and new samples to choose from. I would take your time and enjoy the audition journey. I recently went through all this with two very different systems. Doing the research, reading reviews and forums and most importantly actual listening is best done over time. There is no rush when spending this level of cash. For some there is a certain level of sadness when the hunt stage is finally over. So, my $.02 is take your time and enjoy the ride...
The Denon PMA-2500NE is truly something special- IMHO one of the most overlooked gems in the world of hi fi. Soundwise it’s the King in its price bracket as it actually fights with more expensive competitors. No one has mentioned the Plinius Hiato, a fantastic integrated amp- one of the best sounding integrated amps I’ve auditioned.
Regarding the Yamaha, test results here (pdf): http://i.nextmedia.com.au/avhub/aus...amaha_as-3000_amplifier_review_test_lores.pdf So basically, it's more than good enough to drive any pair of speakers (beware of electrostats though, read the review). I'm sure many other integrateds have very similar results, which leads us again to the adage that speakers are what count. I'm of the mind that -- especially with this quality of amplifier -- if the speaker doesn't sound good, it's not due to the amp, it's the speaker (or room of course). If you're not content with the sound you're hearing, get other speakers -- or use tone controls
I think OP missed some important details, mainly what speakers he will be using and what sources he will be running. Speakers may define how beastly amp section should be. Will he need phono in (MM or MC), DAC, Roon point, etc? If OP major goal is to reduce clutter - all those inputs may be important.
Push the budget: go for the Vitus R-101. I doubt there are many on the used market... Seriously, there is such a range of different sounding, differently specified things being suggested here as to be pretty much mutually exclusive,
all those details added to subsequent posts. Your opinions about the best integrated amp? But yeah, as the thread grows, that'll be like searching for a haystack needle. Unfortunately I can't edit the original post.
