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Considering Moving to an Integrated, Opinions Appreciated

Hi All,

I have converted a spare bedroom to an office/listening room. It is only 12x12. Like most here I have swapped gear in and out for years. I really enjoy the sound of my current system, but space is at a premium and I am considering moving to an integrated from separates.  I have stacks of gear around and am more inclined to get something I can set and forget and maybe even sell a bunch of this crap :)  This is my current system:

LTA microZOTL pre
McIntosh MC2505 amp
MHDT Labs Orchid DAC
PS Audio GCPH Phono Stage
Marantz TT15 Turntable
B&W Nautilus 805 Speakers

The system sounds very nice.  I am not opposed to keeping the DAC and/or phono stage, but it would be nice to have everything in the integrated if possible.  I was looking in the $2500-$3000 range. I might be able to extend my budget some if I can move some of my current gear.  I am not opposed to used.  I have been looking at things like the Lyngdorf 2710, Musical Fidelity M6si, Classe 2200i, Naim, etc. I did read the Lyngdorf vs Anthem thread, which was helpful.

The Lyngdorf seems like it ticks most of the boxes, but I am a little concerned about the amp stage.  Multiple people have described it as "dry" and my preference leans more towards warm.  I am aware that it is class D.  I am not opposed to that, I ran a Peachtree Nova 220SE for about a year and liked it.  However, I recently did some A/B testing with my current setup and the current one is the clear winner.  I also bought an Emerald Physics 100.2se based on rave reviews and I thought it would be a great much with my pre, but it really did not sound good at all.  Maybe it just didn't match well with the pre or speakers.

Most of my listening is digital.  My TT is actually not hooked up at the moment because I don't have room on my current shelf and I am missing it. 

Advice is appreciated, thanks!
 
why0why
rbstehno
1,412 posts
 
The dacs in the Hegels are pretty decent but not close to their standalone dacs or other quality dacs. I had the Hegel 100 then upgraded to the H300, never used its dac. (I have a new Mcintosh C47 preamp with a very good dac and I don't use that either, I have the PS Audio DS sr dac that blows all of the Hegel days away and its Roon ready which the Hegel's are not and might not be). Then I auditioned the H360 at RMAF years ago in the Hegel room and I compared their standalone dac to the H360, big difference. If you don't have a dac or its not a top quality dac, then you probably will like the Hegel H360 on up. I was thinking of buying the smaller H190 for its features for a living room setup. The H300/360/390 would be better suited for a dedicated audio room

why0why OP
70 posts
 
The Orchid DAC sounds really good.  I have rolled the tubes a few times and the one I am currently using is fantastic.  I usually bargain shop and/or prefer to buy used, but the reviews were so good on the Orchid and at only $1100 new, I think it is a great bargain.
tyray
575 posts
 

@why0why ,

Thank you for posting as I was thinking of purchasing an Anthem product and had never heard of the Lyngdorf 2710 before and after reading grannyring’s response I looked at some reviews and was very surprised at the cost/performance value is quiet outstanding - meaning for the price, especially used is a great value as I have seen for a little less than $3000 used.

@grannyring,

After reading your posts on the the Dueland 16GA with cardas interconnects, I initially tried the Dueland 16GA interconnects with Dueland connectors that were very good in my system but didn’t quite hit that ’sweet spot’ for me and per Jeff’s advise of Parts Connexion ended up using Dueland 20GA with KLEI™Absolute Harmony Plugs interconnects shielded and unshielded for about $350 and $275 respectively which was one of the best cost/performance ’upgrades’ I had made to my rig to date. And liked them so much I ’traded in’ my Clear Day double shotguns speaker cable for Duelund 12GA speaker cables without wire connectors, per Duelund specs. And I thank you for that.

Grannyring, I also have to mention that I don’t know how you do it but time and time again when I read of you mentioning a piece of hi fi gear (that I have never heard of) it/they too seem to always have a very good cost/performance value.

For example, your mention of the Clayton Audio S40 Class A amp, combined with The Truth preamp and MHDT Orchid dac, after looking up each of their specs, price and performance reviews were outstanding to say the least.

I sincerely hope that no one is offended if I ask you what speakers and piece of gear are you using to play your cd’s and/or flac files through the MHDT Orchid dac? As my intention is not to hijack the OP.

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,464 posts
 
My speakers are Dali Epicon 6 with major crossover upgrades. My digital front end is the Innuos Zen mk3, my USB cable, SOTM switch and SOTM top of the line Cat7 Ethernet cables.
 
I build my ICs with the KLEI Absolute Harmony RCAs and have done so for about 1.5 years now. Chris at PC got the idea from me I am sure :). The 16ga sounds best with these KLEI connectors. Better than the 20 gauge in most systems. Actually a double IC sounds best with 4 runs of the Duelund 16ga per individual IC. I sell lots of these doubles now. Wonderful sounding, but a lot of work to build!
radiohead99
79 posts
 
I went through many system changes in past couple of years (including 4 speakers) and one thing that remained constant is Lyngdorf TDAI 2170. It's an unbelievable value. When I replaced my ~15k separates (tube amp and preamp), with Lyngdorf I thought it sounded almost 99% as good. With carefully chosen component, you can of course beat the Lyngdorf under 10k separates but under 5k would be VERY hard. Personal preference is always a factor though.
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