Ideas for Pre/Power $9000?

for the list battle....

there is a best value curve at each price range, and let's say 4K for integrated and 5K for speakers: there are fantastic options.

for integrated I know and trust; Musical Fidelity, Parasound, Rotel, Primare, even Hegel fits the budget

for speakers; Dynaudio, Revel, KEF, MoFi, Revival, Totem, Monitor Audio, CSS, Triangle

Belles Aria Signature. BAT VK3000se being closed out. Gato Amp 150. All $4000-$5000 new. I own or have owned all 3 and all are terrific. 

with your budget of 9k, pick up a used deHavilland tube preamp for between 1700 and 3000. Then a used Bryston 14b3 amp for 6000-7000. I have this combo and love the music I hear. 

I'm going to try and split the budget between an integrated and some new speakers. And of course I'll listen to as much as possible, within a reasonable distance from my location.

@lfromsalem Check out the Paradigm Founders speakers, then report back your findings/preferences.  This would help us to narrow down other choices.  The Paradigm Founders got great reviews, seemingly a high value choice.

A used Hegel H360/H390 with the DAC is a popular/safe option.  

Agree - choose the speaker first, then compatible electronics.

Preamp+Amp vs Integrated - A separate preamp, amp, and DAC may make more sense if you plan to upgrade individual components later, but is more costly in extra boxes and cabling. An Integrated is a better economic "value" but cannot later update individual components.  

I'm excited for you - a $9k speaker+integrated update should be a major sonic uptick.  

Demoing speakers is best, ideal if in own system. But finding local stores can be difficult.  I demoed high-end stores in SF Bay Area and LA area, went to major audio shows like AXPONA, T.H.E Show, RMAF (RIP), Pacific Audio Fest before choosing my speakers.  I purchased an AXPONA demo pair.

@lfromsalem Great idea! Good luck in your search.

PassLabs INT60

Class A to 30w

HegeL H590. Read some reviews that include measurements. On the used market they should be available. 2017 I tried a bunch of int's and separates in a similar price and power and the hegel H360 back then) was clearly the most neutral and dynamic. The h590 has more wpc, double the headroom and a new dac and now that the H600 is out the 50 should be a bargain.

Metal? Save your money. You won’t hear any improvement much with Metal. 

Why is that? I currently don't have an amplifier, that means no music at all. So by your logic, I should just go without? 

@coltrane1 

I beg to differ. Metal sounds quite good on my system. At least the metal that’s recorded well. And there is some like that. Check out any Tool album for reference.

Yes you will absolutely hear a difference with metal and the ilk. Even poorly recorded material will sound better although not great. Not all of us listen to fruity tooty audiophile fare…. 
 

Synergy is more important than how much $ you spend.  ALWAYS go with a Good tube preamp and a decent SS amplifier and you'll never look back.

@lfromsalem  , which B&Ws did you listen to?

@immatthewj 702 signature I believe. 

@lfromsalem , I know that you said that you were not blown away by them, but can you expound upon that?

Do you remember what they were being driven with when you heard them?

@immatthewj driven by an Anthem STR integrated. Overall crisp bright sound with lots of top end.

@lfromsalem  , my next upgrade (if it ever happens) will be speakers, so I am always kind of interested in the impressions that others are getting from their speaker auditioning experiences.  Do you think that the reason you were less than impressed with the B&Ws was that they did ot perform well with Metal?  Or was this just an overall impression (if this question makes any sense)?

@immatthewj I'd say that it may have been a case of "too much of a good thing". Anthem brought a bright, snappy sound. Same with the B&W. I tired a few different songs. Not just metal. So I don't believe it was a genre issue. 

+1 on Echo Audio and Stereotypes based on your budget 

You can find some fantastic deals on high quality used equipment at Echo. And the owner is a super cool guy. Stereotypes is also good. They sell good stuff at modest prices. Nice guys too. 
 

Pearl is on the more expensive side. And one component could easily eat your ip up your entire budget. 
 

Btw - I just looked at the Echo website. There are a couple of McIntosh SS amps that just came in priced around $3500. Newer models. For metal, I think they’d be great. 

You could pick up some used speakers for under $3000 and still have a third of your budget for a DAC, streamer or upgraded cables. 

@bluethinker I definitely keep an eye on Echo's site!

I'll have to check out Stereotypes. 

@Ifromsalem - Stereotypes is worth a visit. Both echo and Stereotypes will let you demo amps in your own home, which is fantastic. 
 

Let us know how your search goes.