Best Integrated Amp, Price no obstacle?

I would look at the Dehavilland IOS, depending on your speakers' requirments, this tube amp may be very hard to beat.

I would highly recommended Primare I30. Consider it's price, one of the best. It's a killer, will beat even separates three time it's price.
You can find it for about $1500-1800 used.
Check this link: http://www.sumikoaudio.net/primare/products/i30.htm

Jeff Rowland Concerto (Latest generation of JRDG integrateds. 250 watts into 8 ohms. Very compact,very cool running, specifically by design. After 200 hours or so of run in, the sound has very pleasing,easy quality to it with no trace of ss brightness or harshness. The only other integrated with which I have experience and might be considered an alternative is the Plinius 9200, which, while accomplished in it's own way, it not in the same league as the Concerto.

I would look at Gryphon ( one listed now on the gon ) or MBL 7008 in solid state, Jadis has a stunning line of Integrateds with I beleive the DA60 being the reference model. On a funnier note Bossjay is try to unload a D&K which he considers to be the finest integrated ever created.

I'm the only one around here that mentions Sugden.
They have a high end Integrated called the Masterclass. Runs in Class A.
I compared alot of amps and this one is superb, especially for the music you prefer.
I consider it the Rolls Royce of Integrated amps.
Around $5000.

Anyone compared Rowland Concerto with the older Concentra I or II?

Edge Electronics makes a great integrated unit in their G series.

I preferred the YBA Passion top to bottom over the JRDG Concentra II. 100 wholesome tuby SS watts. The Passion is, certainly, not one of your popular integrateds. Maybe it's the $5k +. I love mine....warren :-)

The Musical Fidelity VK500 is damn good with 500 watts and phono to boot. It has a few small tubes in the pre amp section and is otherwise SS. I have heard the Rowland Concentra II and it is a little grainy and romantic in comparison. The Levinson 383 is grainy and flat and does not compare to either.

I'm going to receive my Jungson 88D LE integrated ($1700) today. Class A 80 watt into 8 ohms (160 watts into 4 ohms) and looks great. Don't let the price fool you, build quality is on par or better with the best American and European integrated. Search A-gon for more info.

And in this corner: All the way from Japan, weighing in at trim 103 lbs..... and still the undisputed integrated champion of the woooooorld! The Audio Note Ongaku. Floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!

If you'd like to experience a traditional tube sound, and if cost is truly no object, the VAC Phi Beta would be an insteresting option, at almost $20k (!). I have owned VAC gear in the past and actually considered this when putting together my current, cost no object system. Of course if $20k is too much, the VAC Avatar Super features some of the same technology, but at about 1/4 the price.

Vac Phi Beta

The Sugden Masterclass is $6K, but it is a real gem.

The Musical Fidelity kW 500 has considerable virtues, but it is not a one-box integrated. No space saving there; it comes with a massive outboard power supply.

Why price no obstacle? the Prima Luna Prologue one is out of this world....30 watts per side. I can think of a $30,000 integrated amp....but, the sound achievments of this amp are not 30 times better than the Prima Luna. Not even twice as better! Think again. Price does equivacate to preformance.

I second the Ios!

Lavardin.

YBA Passion

I am a reviewer for PF online, My favorites in order are:

1) JRDG CII
2) YBA Passion
3) Edge G3

I currently own the G3 and will be writing a review for it soon. Truth be told the only reason I don't own the YBA is that it did not fit on my rack (too long). This is not to knock the G3, I really enjoy the G3, fast, clean and great punchy bass. Dollar for Dollar I would rearange the list with the G3 & YBA being equally in first place.You really cannot go wrong with any on my list, ot most of the ones listed here. However, I was pretty disapointed in the MF gear...

thanks Panderso for the correction.

I read the post quickly before work and gave my 2 cents in a hurry.

Vac Phi Beta- awesome!

the Tenor OTL 75Wi integrated monoblocks are easily the finest integrated amps i have heard. you will need a reasonably easy speaker to drive.....hopefully at least 90db efficient and a fairly flat 6-8 ohm load with no big dips in the impeadence curve.

most Kharma speakers are good matches for this amp.

Has anyone compared the YBA and the Lavardin?

I've just seen pictures but a Burmester is a 'fine looking' integrated.

Without any doubt in my mind VAC Phi Integra 110W, actually it bettered 95% of all separates I have heard in CES 2005.

jadis da60

Price no object, the VAC top of line is a magnificent sounding piece from a great company.
The VAC will sound musical at all times, and have factory backing second to none.
Kevin Hayes is one of the great designers around.

I second Budrew's request for a comparison of the YBA Passion Integre with the Lavardin IS Reference, (or IT), by anyone who's had the chance to hear both.

While we're at it, there are some strong reviews out there for the Unison Unico SE and several of the Audiomat models, including the Opera. Anyone had a chance to compare these?

The VAC Avatar seems to be a strong contender. Much buzz about the new DK Design Group hybrid, I'd love to hear from folk who've actually heard and compared.

Not heard the Musical Fidelity KW500 but the Tri-Vista bettered the Concentra II and ML383 when I was searching for a new amp.

The DK Design VS-1 Mk2 with a tube preamp stage and a solid state output stage is liquid and crystal clear with a rather pellucid presentation. It is also a beautiful design and built like a tank. I would be very surprised if anything at any price sounds appreciably better through a high resolution system.

An all tube integrated design will not likely have a lot of bass impact unless you have very efficient speakers and Jazz and Classical contain a lot of bass information. Maybe with horns..

As far as all solid state goes, I would seriously consider the Plinius integrated even if it is relatively inexpensive. Their separate amps are easily some of the best sounding available at any price and the integrateds retain much of the same character of sound. Unless you are using ribbons or electrostatics(and even then)you'll approach the liquidity of tubes and retain the phenomenal bass response this equipment is known for.

McIntosh MA 6900 -- very musical -- hard to beat -- $4500 new and around 3K on the used market.

The new Blue Circle unit is just so-so?

Love the YBA Passion Integre - now Passion Integre 300. It also has a superb phono stage for peanuts. This a solid state design that sounds like single ended triodes and times more naturally than anything else I've heard.

Hbarrel,

Not sure where you heard that. I may be biased because I'm a Blue Circle dealer, but I have not been more excited about a product than the new BC NSCS Integrated in a while. Quite honestly, it is making it hard for me to sell some of the lower-level BC separates...

You may want to inquire with Tube Research Labs about their new SS 225 watt integrated (ST-225).
It is $5500.
I will be hearing it in a friend's system later this month as he is going to demo with his Soundlabs.
TRL makes SOTA tube preamps and amps for very high end use ($100K+).
They really like this SS int amp.
Will let folks know what I think.

Philnyc - I asked a question? Didn't make a statement.
No one was mentioning it and having no experience with their products was wondering why.

Hbarrel...sorry if I misinterpreted your post. It looked like you were saying the new BC unit was "just so-so". My bad.

I'm guessing that no one has talked about it much because it is relatively new...it was introduced about 3-4 months ago...

NEW A300SE from bvaudio. A typical example of showing that price isn't a measure of sound quality.

An Audiomat Prelude Reference MKII, which is what I have. If price truly were no obstacle, the Audiomat Recital which I recently heard. Funny thing is the Prelude still sounds mighty good to me.

Oracle SI3000 MSRP 14,000.

Solid State, Lavardin IS reference or IT if you need the output. Sugden Masterclass also excellent.
Tube The DeHavilland Ios or the Viva Solista I use(review due out in Stereophile I'm told) Both 845's I believe.

2nd the VAC Phi... price no object, the best.

This weekend, I will attend the intro of the new SimAudio I-7 at a local dealer. I'll be interested to see how it compares with the I-5, which I liked very much in my small room. Some have suggested the Plinius 9200 is similar in some respects to the I-5, but considerably better; I haven't been able to hear the latter.

Will the I-7 simply add power, or significantly enhance refinement as well? I'll report back if anyone is interested.

I'd actually like to hear more about that Blue Circle integrated from Philnyc; what price bracket, what attributes, what comparisons made etc.

TacT Millennium MK3.

Uniso Research Performance, 2x40 watts SET ,uses 3 Kt88 per channel,you can drve even 86 dB speakers getting tubed set sound.

Panderso, I am very interested in your experiences with the I-7, so I hope you will take the time to report the result here.
Happy listening :o)

Tommy

So Panderso...how was the i-7 we're (I'm) dying to know.

Well guys, disappointment, because the I-7 was a no-show. More precisely, the SimAudio rep showed up with a non-working prototype of the 1-7; the chassis and terminals anyhow. Said they'd decided at the last minute it wasn't quite ready; e.t.a. now October. The rep says it will fulfil the promise of more power than the 1-3, more refinement than the I-5, a better pre than the P-3 separate. I'm salivating...
He did demo the new CDP from the same Evolution series, and it sounded fine indeed, driven by Moon W5 separates through some big Maggies.

Meanwhile, I finally got a listen to the new Bryston B100 SST integrated. I should issue a disclaimer; not being personally familiar with the Bryston sound, I'm not the best guy to say how generous a scoop of Bryston you are getting. Secondly, I was listening to it in the store with other components I haven't spent a lot of time with; the MF A5 CDP, and JMLab Profile 918 speakers. I've had a fair amount of time with other members of the MF and JMLab families though.

That out of the way, it sounded very good, very competent, lots of detail, generally sweet highs, rich mids, bass to spare, etc. I didn't get a first impression that I was listening to a break-out product-at-the-price, such as my Nait 5i, but the Bryston is no slouch. At one point a vocal crescendo got a little screechy and started to break up; but I cannot say without more time whether that was one component or another, or the recording. Definitely worth a listen in its niche...around $3K Canadian, prob'ly about $2400 USd, give or take.

Panderso,

Haven't been on Agon for a few days, so I missed your question to me about the Blue Circle NSCS integrated. It is a 110wpc solid state integrated with an amp stage that uses design elements from BC's 200-series amps. The base price is US$2495, with Shallco volume control upgrade options (single Shallco or dual-Shallco). Also has optional remote volume control, although this is not available together with the Shallco versions.

I haven't had a chance to do any comparisons with other integrated amps (asides from BC's entry-level CS integrated), but it has become my best-seller, and it has made it very difficult for me to sell Blue Circle's lower-priced seperates because the performance level is quite high.

Positive Feedback just published the first review:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue21/nscsintegrated.htm

I can put in a plug for the Rogue Audio Tempest II integrated tube, $2695 retail. Large open sound, very cool running, lush voices. And it has 90watts/channel with the ability to add different amps/preamps, so its flexible.