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$5000 integrated budget: Please help me choose....

Looking at a very good integrated. I have been in the audio game quite a while, and have bounced around from several speakers. I have just fallen in love with an Opera Callas Divina (full range, 2 way, low impedance down to 4.4 ohm, nominal 6 ohm, 89db/w) and need a nice integrated to go with it. I recently decided to "start over"! Original plan was to purchase a Sonus Faber, but this was similar, for much less money.

I am mainly looking at Integrated solutions at this time. It seems value in this price range is very high, and there are some good ones. Tried matching separates in the past: been there, done that. Tube or solid state is OK, listening preferences are mostly classical, orchestra and chamber, jazz and vocals. Typical music lover stuff. Source will be CDP and the room is fairly big, at 450 square feet. Hard to find anything above a Jolida locally to demo.

Some models under consideration:
Lavardin IT
Karan 180
McIntosh MA2275
Rowland Continuum 250
Jadis (model 60?)
Simaudio I-7 (maybe too thin)?
Cary SLI 80 F1
Conrad Johnson CA-200

I have been running a cheap Jolida tube integrated, but that is a leftover from a previous system, and I would like to step up. I don't need to spend $5000 if I don't have to, but that is my max budget.

Sound wise, the Opera is a bit sweet and smooth, a touch warm (typical Italian sound) and I am looking for a tube amp or hybrid that isn't to "tubey" but rather leans somewhat toward musical and real, but not overly mushy.
komaki
komaki OP
7 posts
 
Thanks for the recommendations. Source is RCA only, although I could run the Graaf with RCA/XLR conversion cables. Is Graaf still making products?

Re: the Jadis and Karan recommendation: how do these two differ in terms of sound? I hear great things about each...

I heard an MF KW500 integrated, and it sounded very thin on a pair of Thiel 2.4's. Could have been the speaker, though. MF's stuff is musical enough?
clio09
3,355 posts
 
Heard the new AMR 777 integrated at CES this week. Very nice and features tube preamp section with solid state amp section. Price is around $3500 new.
danlib1
819 posts
 
Considered the new Pass Labs Integrated?
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,784 posts
 
Komaki:

I am running Opera Platea floorstanders with a Prima Luna Prologue 5 power amp and Musical Fidelity CD PRE 24 preamp/cd player. The listening space is roughly 350 sq ft. I agree that the Opera house sound can be sweet and warm sounding, but I also find that I get a good amount of detail from my recordings. I also find the Plateas mostly forgiving of harsher recordings. I like the Opera/PL combination a lot. It has been in place about a year and a half now. For a tube integrated, I would look to the Prima Luna Prologue 2 or the new Mystere line of Prima Luna. I use a PL2 in another system with a Rega Apollo CD player and Spendor SA1 speakers. The listening is in the nearfield position, but the sound is still satisfying.

Regards,

Rich
merganser
216 posts
 
"I heard an MF KW500 integrated, and it sounded very thin on a pair of Thiel 2.4's. Could have been the speaker, though."

It wasn't the MF, I can assure you.
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