$2000-$3000 integrated with DAC ???

Gopher - to date I have only tried Core Audio's power supplies - I've got one on my Mac Mini and one on my DAC, with outstanding results. A friend of mine, however, has auditioned the amp and says it is like nothing he's ever heard - he's going to replace his beloved 2A3 SET amp with it.

While he says the 2A3 is warmer and does holographic imaging a bit better, he added that his impression was that this is because the Core Audio amp was too quick and resolving to render a holographic image, and in fact that it made the whole idea of a holographic image seem a little artificial now that he's heard this amp.

He says the Core Audio amp delivers a presentation that is more real and life-like than anything he has heard before - incredible speed and what he calls "extreme harmonic richness and tonal density"... The sense of uncanny reality is especially strong with the human voice, apparently.

I'm going to have my amplifier by the end of this coming week, hopefully, and will post my impressions as soon as I can.

The Naim gear seems interesting, if not not underpowered. I recall hearing one of their intergrateds vs. the ayre integrated and feeling like the ayre was superior; however, it may have been the 5i vs. the ayre, in which case, it's almost unfair to compare. The 5i was 70% of the sound of the ayre for 50% of the price.

The Unitiqute seems kinda interesting. Wonder how it stacks up against the Bel Canto?

The Uniti stuff is very versatile and great sounding IMO. They've got digital inputs, iPod input (Qute is digital, the Uniti might be), tuner, internet tuner, and streaming all built in. The only thing it doesn't have is a phono stage. The Uniti has a CDP and a bit more power. I like the Uniti's sound better, but some like the Qute better; it's a bit sweeter sounding than the Uniti. The Uniti sounds identical to the Nait 5i and CD5i to my (and my dealer's) ears.

If I were to go with a single box unit, the Uniti would definitely be it. For everything you get in one box, it's a great deal. And both sound great, not just for the money. They're as no-compromise as I've seen.

Just throwing that out there. They come up every now and again here. Main sells a ton of them, and not very many show up second hand, so that says something.

Another option may be the Rega Brio R and Rega DAC. Yes, it's 2 seperate components, but they're half width. Put side by side they probably wouldn't take up any more space than a full width integrated.

Naim's watts go a long way. The Uniti can drive any reasonable speaker in an average room to pretty loud levels. Don't expect rock concert levels while driving something like an ATC or Dynaudio Contour though. The Qute's 30 watts are more than they seem too.

Brings up a good point though...

How much power do you need? What speakers are you driving or plan to drive?

I have very little experience with them, but Wyred 4 Sound released or will soon release a small integrated with digital inputs. I briefly heard about it in a CES write up.

Not sure why, but my response to your question did not show up yesterday.

The C7r is 60watts (8ohm) and 120watts (4ohm). The amp section in this integrated is based off of the Ref150s amp.