All-in-One units for retiring audiophile & music lovers in 2025, say what?
A good audio buddy friend closing in on his later parts of the golden years contacted me over the holidays. He started talking rather excitedly about these new all-in-one units. [Please disregard if this is nothing new for you and/or not of any real interest]. This story and ask below might not resonate with some. Hopefully others who can relate might reply, understanding a lot of what this is really about. A winding down audiophile friend, looking for simplicity of listening to music is what I can share up front.
I found my audiophile friend's [all of the sudden] inquiry interesting, me asking what he's looking at buying - say what?, and starting to ask him "does it sound good, look good, is it light weight or heavy, could you see it replacing everything as your new center piece in your big room, and all the other stuff gone - really?", "Say more". He started to share more. Please read on if any of this is resonating, Thanks.
We start talking and reminiscing about our early Go-To receivers from the mid 1970s. The big all-in-one boxes. Wider cases, big transformers, powerful, weighty, great FM tuners, tone controls, Big Stereo Sound. How it was back then - simple to listen to FM, big roller dial, plug in your turntable, tape decks, and enjoy the music for days. No other worries, let it play. Remember doing that? I bet many members here on Audiogon lived all of that too, and none of us will ever forget it. I won't.
I also bring this up because It dawned on me, I started asking myself wow - is this really occurring all over again in some new and exciting way. Like a giddy kid I start researching with him seeing more - woah, what? I did realize some of this [sort of an era renewal] was already occurring past few years, still not quite aware myself of what's out there, or coming back, maybe puzzled a bit and curious.
Seeing more videos, familiar reviewers, all touching on this topic past 1-2 yrs. Then you see some of the same new units popping up with all of the reviewers, hmmm.
So my fairly extreme multi [tube/amp/component] audio buddy [past 60 years] starts showing me these new generation [mostly] solid state units he's been looking at, seemingly ready to hang up ALL of the separate components. Says he simply wants "one box" now to "do it all", "getting rid of all this other stuff", to just "play music" and "be done". These were his exact words recently. Some may relate here. It kinda hit me. Something to be said for simplicity and just listening to music. Yes.
Next Generation -
Looking closely at these new units with my friend - seeing somewhat old-familiar design approaches, renewed, by real engineers. Ahhh, hey, there we see big transformers, a stout amplifier section, nice capacitors, thick copper wiring, big screws on power caps, robust binding posts, nice built in DAC, built-in streamer with tons of access, yep - tone controls, loudness control, low noise, meters, lighting - hmmm what's going on here. I soon realized I too need to pay attention and look around more closely - to see what he's really looking at and why. It starts to make a lot of sense, it's coming into a focus, just like the '70s era receivers were.
Fast forward a few weeks - Buddy just ordered his new all-in-one unit, maybe downsizing speakers. He's dropping back down to a new/familiar 70s style midsize speaker as well. He was initially anxious, a little nervous maybe, wondering - and decided to just go forward and "not look back" he says. Some of you may already be well down this path, or even doing this in 2nd, 3rd systems now. The whole thing is sort of a throwback [in some ways] to me, sort of what it use to be like 50yrs ago. Or feels that way to me. They say great ideas recycle back to themselves. Maybe so. Observing closer now.
Wow, wouldn't it be really cool if it could be all done really well, in one-box, once again? No more separates component listening - just hit the power button one time, turn up the volume, and let it play in the big room, listen, walk around, no worries - just let it play for days on end. I bet many here totally get why I posted this. It's for an audio friend.
ASK:
Please share your story. It would be so cool for him to read any of your stories. I know he would be interested and appreciate your wind-back consolidation journey too - if you have one like his to share in some way. Particularly those who've made great strides towards major consolidation and still enjoying the music. Dear buddy is starting the journey now to separate himself from his vast array of separates, lots of stuff, selling everything else soon, and going back to "one box" for simple music in the big room. I'm supporting him along the way on this particularly journey.
Thanks a million in advance for your replies - care to share your familiar story at all?
One other thought (a little surprised no one else mentions it) is Arcam: SA35 - $3000 SA45 - $5000 A very solid company. But this is a really competitive area of the business right now, as you can see. Linn (I had the Linn Classic for our mbr system almost 20 years ago!) and Naim were early movers, but now any mainstream brand has to have a streaming integrated to compete, it seems.
|
I’m 71 and have a dedicated listening room (now) and I went from Audio Research separates to a Moon 390 and will never look back. Eliminated a lot of cables and clutter. Kept my power amp (ARC VT100MkII), connected SACD over HDMI and listen at up to DSD256, Thorens td126III with Ortofon Black and good to go. Flawless machine after two years. The streaming from NAS interface requires some devotion, but small price to pay. I started in the 60s with a Scott 296 (the one that blows up), Rectilinear 3s (still in storage), Fisher TFM 300 tuner (feh) and a Dual 1019 (I wish I still had it) with a Shure M75 (I think?). Have fun! |
I have the Yamaha R-N2000A in our main living room area (my 2nd system but where I have to living harmony with others). I have it powering KEF R-3s (non-Meta) and a SVS SB-3000 sub. I’m still a noobie at all this, but I think it’s fantastic. The YPAO room correction is great and the E-ARC allows me to use it with the TV. At 47 lbs, this A/B integrated seems well built. Found it brand new for about $1300 off the MSRP (don’t know if I’m allowed to say where), so I’m very happy. |
Clip, from within the link you sent. Looks built inside. Dual torroidals. Nice. Interesting too. ------ Quote; "Now the AP20 story gets interesting. It’s analog all the way from here on out (with one convenient exception). Aurender implemented an analog R2R stepped-attenuator volume control in the AP20. It would’ve been so simple for the company to just use the digital volume control built into the AKM chips, but I’m very happy an R2R analog control was selected because I often prefer the sound of a nice analog volume control."
|
The Aurender AP20 looks interesting. I have not been impressed with their earlier DACs. Streamer, top notch but not their DACs. I was interested to read this review. I have not heard one, so I can’t comment on the unit or this review. But looks like it would be worth hearing.
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/aurender-ap20-integrated-review-r1256/
|
@decooney ...*Laugh* Nah, saw the disclaimer, blew past it....and I had a pair of 'phones on at the time... Like any good piano, stay tuned... ;) @livinon2wheels ...sorry to read your house went to ash on you...1st thought was "well, that's what happens if you run all 11 at once, all at 11...😏..." Likely, not the case.... Anyway, at 73, we've similar pasts with Heathkits, Eico, Allied and Layfette catalogues, all that....being a pest at b&m shops....magazines of various sorts.... Since you've gotten pared down rather abruptly, it IS a great opportunity to revise an approach. You mention combining garage, kitchen, and locations less inclined to 'stationary audio contemplation', you might consider a distribution amp. The main system becomes the A-V set-up, minimalist as you may discern....or not. Just a thought.... J |
There it is - was wondering when it would surface here. And now a few pictures. Seems this unit is being marketed fairly aggressively around the world this past year. https://www.advanceparis.com/en/gammes/myconnect/
|
Great posts, guys! Interesting how things cycle back their beginnings. Fruitwood consoles gave way to "components" which peaked at massive hardware (and physical media) taking up a measurable amount of the available real estate in our homes. Then back to compressing all this (under extreme pressure) in the most minimalist(?) amount of space, measured in cubic centimeters as opposed to cubic feet. Our past efforts to cram 3 pounds of manure into a 2 pound bag has had mixed success in both sound quality, and reliability. Sometimes we’re just slow learners. (It did take us over 100 years to figure out that if we just tipped those Ketchup bottles upside down life would be much easier). But, we are seeing legitimate "real" high fidelity stuff coming in small packages these days. The convergence of engineering genius and musical genius is a beautiful thing. We’re actively involved in servicing old audio gear which takes a "creative" turn now and then. We recently applied "newer thinking" to a 60’s Zenith "flip down" stereo -- one of those things where the turntable hinged down from the top and the speakers flipped out from the sides. We installed new 2.1 digital amp, modern low profile drivers, and passive sub out. Also located an old (but newer) BIC changer up in the loft to replace the original Zenith. Belt drive, Grado cartridge, outboard phono stage. Sounds pretty <insert expletive here> good, looks original, and takes up minimal space. Then there’s the old (vacuum tube) Magnavox console that was dropped off for service. After breathing life back into it, we experimented with a Wiim Pro streamer with 12v trigger. The old Magnavox's new hidden components can be controlled via iPhone or tablet. Powers when the app is launched, and powers down after a few minutes of non-activity. Fun stuff.
|
So true, thanks for the reply, story, and acknowledging this thread - us helping a friend and others.. You bring up great family memories for me, and the mention of Lafayette, Heathkit and Hafler. My grandfather was involved with a lot of that, parts and more - was Chief Engineer at H&R later became founder of American Electronic Laboratories, AEL , Philadelphia PA. This exposed me to some of it. Your comment about the lack of "brick and mortar" stores and mention is something I’m tracking in my own metropolitan area. I’m also wondering about this myself, likely a key factor in how the next generation of audio-listeners are evolving, adapting, and what they are actually buying now days, and for the near future. ---- Holding on !!!: I try to periodically visit my own local 55-year-in-business audio dealer to check in and see what’s happening. Been going there for 45 years. He’s still in business and loving it, and I do not see any all-in-one units for sale there, all unique stuff you cannot buy online easily fwiw. Definitely a group of us still out here hugging our separates and enjoying them as long as we can :). I think it helps to do both, and let go of whatever you need to - when needed, but maybe not immediately LOL.
|
Advance Paris Myconnect 250Vacuum tube preamplification with Streaming Functionality…
Key Features:
|
What an interesting thread and all the thoughtful replies to the OP. I am starting to walk down the simplification path to some extent. At the age of 72 I still enjoy a system of separates but not to the order of magnitude I once did. This bears explaining. I was exposed to hi-fi gear back in the days when AR inc was making a name for itself and state of the art home audio gear was from heathkit and featured a williamson type tube amp (20 wpc) and a separate preamp. Add Tuner and turntable and you have a mono system. That was Dad's first system that I had recollection of and 'helped' build it at the age of 8, my help largely limited to asking way too many questions and getting in his way. But that kit building experience opened the door for a career in electronics, and many more kits from companies like Lafayette, Heathkit and Hafler. All of which helped me along my path. Fast forward to where I was in early 2024. At one point there I had no less than 11 different sound/video systems scattered throughout my house, almost all of that were separates, with various extra pieces that either had fallen out of favor due to age or some personality trait I decided was sufficient reason to disconnect and store as a spare. Then in April the house fire happened and that was the end of essentially all of what I had. Its safe to say I won't be rebuilding 11 separates based systems when I move back into the house. Its just not going to happen. Most of what will be bought will be simplified systems that don't have a high fiddle factor. I too many other things I would rather do than try to collect the odd collection of stuff I had before. Its just not worth the trouble at this point. I will certainly have for sure one separates system but for the most part, integration and consolidation is the path forward. For sure there will not be 11 systems either...that ship has sailed. I am leaning more towards the idea of things that are mostly music based systems and 2 channel to have a DAC/preamp/amp combo with perhaps a streamer or computer as the source. The system I am using now is an Emotiva TA1 with a Macbook Air as the source, connected by USB. Not high powered at all, but sufficient as a desktop system. So, am I considering systems more consolidated than this one. Perhaps for the garage or bedroom or kitchen, these locations truly beg for a simple quality solution. Not necessarily cheap but something that is simple to use and sounds good at reasonable levels. It seems there is a TON of gear out there now that meets these parameters and is fairly affordable. The lure of the simplicity combined with near audiophile or true audiophile quality is pretty compelling. Choosing out of this glut of gear is a daunting process, and so time consuming due to the lack of brick and mortar stores within a reasonable distance from my home. But I still want at least one serious separates system that will rock the house like a Grateful Dead concert. I cling to the belief that in order to make the illusion of actually being at the venue where the recording was done really come home, you need to be able to reproduce the live levels and dynamic range that were captured on the recording. To ensure that is possible you need efficient speakers and prodigious amounts of amplifier power. Everyone draws that line in a different place but for me, especially given this multichannel system must reproduce movies and music convincingly, if the amp and speaker combo can produce clean musical peaks at 115db that is a reasonable compromise between true real world loud levels you would experience hearing gun shots or jet engines spooling up or....pick your loud sound effect. For music, that is certainly enough and for sound effects it exceeds Dolby standards by 10 db so I'll call it good. That said, I dont know of an integrated amp/streamer that has that potent an amplifier section. This is easily achievable with separates. So begins the slow process of managing and rethinking my expectations going forward. |
What an interesting thread and all the thoughtful replies to the OP. I am starting to walk down the simplification path to some extent. At the age of 72 I still enjoy a system of separates but not to the order of magnitude I once did. This bears explaining. I was exposed to hi-fi gear back in the days when AR inc was making a name for itself and state of the art home audio gear was from heathkit and featured a williamson type tube amp (20 wpc) and a separate preamp. Add Tuner and turntable and you have a mono system. That was Dad's first system that I had recollection of and 'helped' build it at the age of 8, my help largely limited to asking way too many questions and getting in his way. But that kit building experience opened the door for a career in electronics, and many more kits from companies like Lafayette, Heathkit and Hafler. All of which helped me along my path. Fast forward to where I was in early 2024. At one point there I had no less than 11 different sound/video systems scattered throughout my house, almost all of that were separates, with various extra pieces that either had fallen out of favor due to age or some personality trait I decided was sufficient reason to disconnect and store as a spare. Then in April the house fire happened and that was the end of essentially all of what I had. Its safe to say I won't be rebuilding 11 separates based systems when I move back into the house. Its just not going to happen. Most of what will be bought will be simplified systems that don't have a high fiddle factor. I too many other things I would rather do than try to collect the odd collection of stuff I had before. Its just not worth the trouble at this point. I will certainly have for sure one separates system but for the most part, integration and consolidation is the path forward. For sure there will not be 11 systems either...that ship has sailed. I am leaning more towards the idea of things that are mostly music based systems and 2 channel to have a DAC/preamp/amp combo with perhaps a streamer or computer as the source. The system I am using now is an Emotiva TA1 with a Macbook Air as the source, connected by USB. Not high powered at all, but sufficient as a desktop system. So, am I considering systems more consolidated than this one. Perhaps for the garage or bedroom or kitchen, these locations truly beg for a simple quality solution. Not necessarily cheap but something that is simple to use and sounds good at reasonable levels. It seems there is a TON of gear out there now that meets these parameters and is fairly affordable. The lure of the simplicity combined with near audiophile or true audiophile quality is pretty compelling. Choosing out of this glut of gear is a daunting process, and so time consuming due to the lack of brick and mortar stores within a reasonable distance from my home. But I still want at least one serious separates system that will rock the house like a Grateful Dead concert. I cling to the belief that in order to make the illusion of actually being at the venue where the recording was done really come home, you need to be able to reproduce the live levels and dynamic range that were captured on the recording. To ensure that is possible you need efficient speakers and prodigious amounts of amplifier power. Everyone draws that line in a different place but for me, especially given this multichannel system must reproduce movies and music convincingly, if the amp and speaker combo can produce clean musical peaks at 115db that is a reasonable compromise between true real world loud levels you would experience hearing gun shots or jet engines spooling up or....pick your loud sound effect. For music, that is certainly enough and for sound effects it exceeds Dolby standards by 10 db so I'll call it good. That said, I dont know of an integrated amp/streamer that has that potent an amplifier section. This is easily achievable with separates. So begins the slow process of managing and rethinking my expectations going forward. |
Nah, you missed the disclaimer - this thread is not meant for those still enjoying and justifying their high $ audio separates all over the place. Since you bring it up, the *sly grin* rests with clever folks listening with really good headphones on
|
@decooney ....well, I’d be the last to blow off a MC variation on a JBL theme, but sitting in between my omnis’ doesn’t flip the soundstage on you...but I’ve got this bias.... :) Besides, I’d suggest sitting ’back’ a tad and rotating the speakers’ tops ’facing’ you...makes it make sense imho.... Any flat & vaguely level surface around us ’grows stuff’ and is a non-starter... Auto-style subs, don’t have a couch that cats can destroy and you get to chose between drivers, asshakers, or both.....we’ve enough choices already on stuff.... ...and the KEF ’living room’ pic....how many of us listen like that? ...curious....like the market is lashing around, trying to find The Niche.....🤷♂️ Not like I’m crusin’ to bruise, but a thought about the intended perception issues become kinda....’bent’....*sly grin*
|
a few pics of another worthy solution mentioned three times so far... Amplifier Output Power (Per Speaker) LF: 280W Amplifier Class (Per Speaker) LF: Class D
|
I had a separates system for decades. Conrad Johnson, Pass Labs, Luxman, Joseph Audio, Martin Logan, MBL, REL, Shunyata Research, etc. Good stuff but I wanted a small, simplified, good sounding alternative. Pretty easy in my case. KEF LS50 Wireless II speakers. For best sound, plan on stands and add a sub. Choose your streaming source. I love classical so I subscribe to Adagio for $10 / month. For better sounding source use Qobuz, Tidal or other hi def / lossless services. Without sub, the "system" consists of two really compact speakers, two power cords, one lap top. Buy from Crutchfield. If you don’t like it, return and get refund. Proceed to Plan B. If you like it, you are done. |
All in one units? I guess it’d be really challenging to learn about all these magical boxes can do. I remember buying a Nice sounding receiver from marantz and I found the thing incredibly complicated and challenging to deal with with respect all the settings. Connectivity issues with the HDMI cords abounded. The manual was extremely long and the interfaces were challenging because everything has to be connected to Wi-Fi and the web and accessible via an app. So while this magical box may end up doing just about everything under the sun it’s worth exploring the interface and the convenience of using it before you get excited about purchasing it. I don’t understand why this effort simplifies the situation. Isn’t there a chance you could have things going wrong with the device and then part of it works some part of it doesn’t and then it becomes very annoying and you basically wanna jump out the window but because you live in a ranch with no second story you’re confined to a one floor House so jumping out the window doesn’t really accomplish anything. All this because you want to get an all in one solution |
Hey decooney...this is a story around the topic. I submitted it as a topic which was seemingly rejected...oh well, here goes:
Raising consciousness around modern DIGITAL PLAYBACK
As a passionate audio geezer with a limited budget, my SOTA Sapphire, Fidelity Research FR64 arm and Grado was my "end of the line" for analog back in the 1990's. I could not pursue both sources at the higher end, financially. I sold the vinyl stuff and never looked back. An Arcam Alpha 9 CD player with dCS ring dac technology fell in my lap, a Z-Man tube buffer, and on I went.
Later came a used NAD M2, full retail $6K...a cutting edge integrated, which included a DAC, somewhat refined Class D plus the ability to select ohm output levels to a lovely pair of Salk monitors. (Enjoy your retirement, Jim...and thanks) THEN, a friend sent me a Music Reference RM-10 MKII EL84 based tube amp followed by a pair of Revolution BE loudspeakers (beryllium tweeters) for my small, dedicated studio. This partnership turned out to be the room / loudspeaker matching at its finest!
With wise counsel from my San Jose Tech, Mike, I selected an outboard pro dac, the Focusrite Clarrett and began streaming lossless files. This served well for several years. During this time, I established a close friendship with a nearby friend who was extremely active in audio, maintaining three systems. The experience was like living near a start-up brick & mortar hi-fi store in the 1980's. He rotated really cool stuff the likes of Von Schweikert, VPI, Tannoy, Pass, McIntosh, Devialet, Audio Matiere (Equilibre & Paraphrase,) King stats, legendary AR9s, Dynaudio Heritage, Music Reference RM200, KEFs and many, many more.
Excuse the rather long backstory as I found it necessary to establish a little cred. The topic, of course, is digital to analog conversion. Before my Focusrite Pro dac, I had an AURALiC dac player on loan. The experience helped convince me NOT to devote a lot of my audio budget towards digital to audio conversion. The upgrade path was costly and the returns seemed relatively minor, compared to analog.
My friend landed upon a Lampizator DAC and he fell in love with its flavor. Twice my friend upgraded the Lampi to one approaching $18K. Is it good? You BET! Was I ever sad to come home to my humble dac? Not once. Okay, so, Mike in San Jose does deep dives on cutting edge digital progression. I asked him, if ever something came up at a reasonable cost that was substantially better than my dac, to let me know.
A couple of months ago I came across this YouTube link:
The Best Tweak EVER In The Whole Audio Industry
...having followed Danny of GR-Research for some time, I'd developed some trust in his listening skills. I began to research chip dacs and op amps, then discussed the possibility of making a move with Mike, my digital mentor. I further learned, from another long time Tech friend, that these chip dacs have equaled and sometimes bettered some of the high priced stuff. -- that the dac chip themselves, their noise levels and specifications now make the differences moot, -- THEN one can select op amps for personal flavorings.
For decades now, high end audio has been described as "a reach for that last bit of performance," the last (costly) 10 or 5 percent. Well, both of my Tech friends presently agree that the latest differences in dacs might be reduced to a percentage within ONE percent! Give that thought a moment to digest. With all the modern attention given to large power supplies, inner and outer isolation, "bling" or those costly streaming boxes (now done silently and inexpensively from a computer) at such costly prices? Could such levels of performance indeed be possible at amazingly low cost?
Here is an excerpt from a recent AudiogoN discussion "fast dac topic" response: "@audiocanada What DAC do you have now? I predict I'll get flamed for this answer, but perhaps consider one of the Topping D90 Variants for $799." Why worry about being "flamed?" Might it be the concept that something SO far down the food chain can actually compete, so often dismissed in our hobby? BTW, I fully support anyone with the means to buy upwards, as exotic as they like. I've benefited from trickle down technology for decades! However, our beloved hobby does suffer from the concept that fantastic sound is unattainable within a small budget. This is quite simply...no longer true for those without DIY skills.
My choice was in buying a Geshelli Labs JN2 socketed DAC outfitted with the AK4499 dac chip and Sparkos 2590 rca op amps, yes, the ones that Danny of GR gushed over. Delivered, the cost came to $556. So, how does it sound? Once again, pull up Danny's review. I'm not copping out, he describes the sound better than I can. My Pro Focusrite DAC still comes into play, splitting and sending the deep bass off to my terrific RythmiK L12 Servo Subwoofer from 80Hz down. This allows the full 35W per channel from the tube amp to drive from 80Hz upwards to the Revolution Be monitors, greatly increasing the dynamics overall.
Entry level audio has become exciting. My 16 months with the BACCH Labs Plug-In crosstalk cancellation has been a joy. Two months into the new chip dac approaches the best sound experienced at my friends house, bettering it in some ways. Our access to music is the most exciting time in history for us music lovers. All at reasonable costs.
Happy Holidays All! More Peace Pinthrift (bold print for old eyes)
|
Deserves pics for all to see. Kinda like having a vintage JBL Paragon cut in half on either side of you. Speaker-Headphones sort of. Another neat idea, that’s pretty cool. Love seeing new-old-renewed type of designs people thinking inside and outside of the standard box form factor
|
@tomaswv, when you auditioned the Atoll SDA200 sig and the IN300 evo, did you also demo the IN200 evo? If so, how close were the two IN evos? What was different between the two? |
My audio journey began in 1971, my freshman year of college. My methodically researched Dynaco A25/Sansui AU-717/ Dual 1219 Shure M91Ed never materialized due room a dock strike and so I ended up with a Sony All-in-One that had about 12 W/Ch and a Dual OEM changer. I almost immediately swapped the speakers for a pair of ADC 303AX, an Advent wannabe, and a big step up. A Marantz 1060 and a roommate-friendly PLA-35/B&O SP-12 followed, along with genuine Advents, then a second pairs, a Sony 100W/ch TA-3300f driven from the 1060s pre-outs. That system rocked. And qualified me for part time employment in our local hifi store. Built on the 'Magnolia HiFi' model, we carried Yamaha, H-K, Sony, Phase Linear, electronics and Advent, ADS, and JBL and later Magnepan speakers. |
Check this out for a speaker solution. Go to http://Musicalcocoon.com This unconventional speaker goes way deep into how your system sounds. It’s amazing how you can feel the music like you’re in a giant bubble. It’s not an April fools joke it really is true. I have a friend whose wife was able to listen to music again, headphones didn’t work and regular room speakers didn’t work but the way that this fills your head with music is just exceptional and let her hear parts of the tracks that she had lost up to five years ago. Many of you who have lost some of your hearing might have an interest in this and those of you who are being always told to turn down the music or turn down the TV. |
Not yet as all-in-one, thanks. Saw a 2022 review in this a while back, a few pics inside, Michi X3, on Rotel sitehttps://www.rotel.com/product/x3
-------- Hegel As for the Hegel, will leave that to the Hegel pros to weigh in. A few folks I know prefer external dacs for this, yet maybe they’ve upgraded it some more, who knows. New page reads - "EISA Premium Streaming Amplifier 2024 - 2025"
Power output: 2 x 250 W into 8 Ω @ 1kHz 1% THD, 100/120/230V AC, Dual Mono 20kg 44lbs! Dayum and look inside, like a big powerful receiver amp plus - ----- Clean and simple on back
|
You might be in luck for your Dali Menuet’s about now. Looking inside a few of these new beast all-in-ones units caught my own attention originally for my friend’s research - him trying to make this transition in a mindful and semi-excited way. Now I’m like "woah" myself - seeing some units with big toroidal transformers, big or multple groupings of power caps, upper line DAC chips inside, nice streaming service accesss, weighty units like the golden era receiver days. Some nice integrateds with notable dacs/streaming services added, tube front-ends showing up inside now too. Some of those still retaining or adding reasonable quality phono preamp sections inside too. Coming together nicely. ----- My all tube system is running this morning, playing some nondescript and beautiful streamed "morning coffee" albums, thinking hard about how nice it sounds right now, just super nice. Then wondering how I myself will struggle to give this up and consolidate. Its going to take a real gem all-in-one unit for me to make the move. This has been a fun journey helping my friend and working with all of you here on this.
|
I was on the same vector—time to downsize (especially speakers). And this led me to audition the Atoll SDA200 mentioned above. Blew me away, and made me postpone my downsizing in my big room— bought an Atoll IN300 EVO instead. Keeping my Dali Mentor 6 floor standers and instead I’m going to set up a small rig in the bedroom. Dali Menuet SEs arriving soon and now on the hunt for a small all in one for them. I have a Cambridge EVO 75 driving my tv speakers but I think I need more grunt and more grunt. Will look at some of the units identified here. |
I went through the same process as your friend a few years ago. I had retired and my wife and I were planning to downsize. About the same time an acquaintance passed away and I was helping his wife sell his 20,000+ record collection. I decided to not be a burden on my wife should I pass away before her, and I wanted to get back to listening to music as opposed to “collecting”. I sold or gave away all my equipment and my records and ended up with a Bluesound Powernode 2i. They are currently driving KEF LS50 Meta speakers. The system acts as a surround system with my TV. Now my system is smaller, lighter, cheaper. With Qobuz, I listen to lots more and different types of music than I used to. My wife also enjoys my system, whether alone or with me. |
Worthy of a few pics and for the Rotel fans out there. https://rotel.com/music-systems#integrated-streaming-amplifiers POWER OUTPUT
|
I don’t have suggestions on equipment, as I have the separates and not looking to consolidate. But I know both young adults and older folks that aren’t enthused about a ton of equipment having cables running between them and taking up room/collecting dust. If they like to rearrange furniture, they don’t want to strain and make it an all-day process just moving the stereo. I’m not there yet, but I understand. The old guy I bought my first equipment from was downsizing to move away from heavy bulky equipment. My sons look at my gear and ask why I don’t just get a small box I can plug my phone into to stream music. I don’t think they see the point in tower speakers or having separate boxes for each function. |
Aurender AP20 All-In-One Digital Source and Integrated Amp / https://aurender.com/home/ap20/
|
@decooney, yes a little too much all in one. I would prefer passive speakers. Lots of good options, and a greater ability to find speakers that match my taste and space. Speaking of space, thanks @fastfreight for the lead, but those would be a little much for my 12x15 room. Plus one too many zeros on the price for my budget! Thinking more along YG Cairn or Tor. Another option, Electrocompaniet ECI 6 Mk II. Just add speakers. Somebody mentioned the idea of where or what direction receivers could or should go. I’ve actually given it some thought. A truly modular system. Some integrated amps have modular add ons such as a phono stage or a DAC. Would be nice to see a solid amp/pre amp that offered a full range of add on modules, and critically an upgrade path for changing technology. Face it, streamers and dacs are probably going to look different 5 years from now. Probably a pain to design and economically build such an item. I always think of some of the bleeding edge computers I used to build that are now only good for door stops. |
Now that's a good one, LOL. We all seem to like our added complexities don't we. Video of your mentioned Cabasse Rialto, spinning speakers with controls on top and back. Another true all-in-one and then some. https://www.cabasse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/RIALTO_Black_360_White-BKG.mp4 |
Not to side track the conversation with too much and I’m not quite at retirement just yet, but I’ve been wondering the same. I’ve been playing whackamole with a living room, bedroom, and office system driven by the upgrade itch and tube and / or tube amp issues. My sources are a VPI prime super scout 21, Blusound (reliable until they die, with moderate troubleshooting), HiFi Rose 250a (almost unusable) and unlike many others here I watch lots of music videos and movies through an Xbox via YouTube, Amazon, Netflix etc. I also have some headphone amps and headphones, which I very much enjoy and aren’t easy to fully integrate into other systems. I’ve been considering integrated amps from likes of McIntosh, Luxman, Hegel, Pathos, but also powered speakers such as ATC SCM50a. The thinking being maybe powered speakers with a great preamp/dac/streamer unit might be the ticket. I also wonder if this is hobby isn’t much different than watches. Sure there is power and accuracy and neutrality (which seems to defeat the need for so many choices). Anyway, see you all at Axpona. Enjoying conversation to read. |
Hey @markmn , your dream can be a reality ! (shameless plug): https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650149192-yg-hailey-22-excellent-single-owner-black/ |
If you're willing to spend a bit more money to compete with high-performance audiophile gear, you might want to take a look at the Grimm Audio MU2. Made in the Netherlands and lots of rave reviews! The MU2 includes a streamer, storage for music files, a Roon core, a great DAC, and a sophisticated preamp. And it can be controlled by virtually any remote or even the oversize control button on the top of the unit. To use the MU2 to do Roon streaming, all you would need to add is powered speakers. Of course, if you're in love with a set of passive speakers or a particular amp, you can still use the MU2 as the "almost-all-in-one" center of a system with uncompromised sound quality. |
Nope. Thanks, A few others keep trying to suggest simple integrated amps too. He's definitely going for the "all-in-one quality streamer amplifier" now. No more component cables, just speakers at most - nothing else. One switch to flip on, flip off. :) Its a good challenge for an audiophile like him to concur, maybe :), we'll see. This is another one of those guys who's tried more different tubes and dacs than anyone I know personally. Some surprising ideas here so far. Keep them coming!
|
Depending on what he may be willing to spend, I would suggest an Accuphase Receiver with dac module in the used marketplace. The only thing missing would be the streamer. Everything else would be there that we are all familiar with, from the glory days of receivers. I think he would also appreciate the sound character based on his past equipment.
|
Thanks @decooney for your reply. I am really hoping to consolidate 6 or 7 boxes down to 1 very shortly (should be receiving the IN200 Evo with DA100 card very soon) with the possibility of adding the P100 card at a future date. Any feedback or notable reviews for the P100 card? |
To @sbrownnw that SDA300 Signature you've listed kinda proves what has evolved here. There are member-friends here with former Atolls that don't look anything like what you just shared. Streams Qobuz too like some others don't. Nice. Adding the pic here from your link above.
|
"The Michi X3 Integrated Amplifier delivers uncompromised audio performance conveniently packaged in an elegant industrial design. The X3 delivers 350 Watts of Class AB output power into 4 ohm loads maintaining musical accuracy with exceptional acoustic detail from the Analog, Digital, PC-USB, apt-X Bluetooth and Moving Magnet Phono Stage source inputs."
