Integrated amp for Eggleston Andra II

Possibly worth looking for a used ASR Emitter, 1 or 2, i would imagine it would fit what your after, does not sound like ss. You may not want to swap back even..

Knghifi,

Unfortunately, I had to sell the Gamut to get the funds to purchase the Rowland - and therefore never heard a direct comparison. And, since the Andras are "warmer" than the Eidolons which are driven by my Spectral gear, I really can't paint an accurate picture of the difference there either. Perhaps I should switch the amps around in my two systems. It would be easy to put the Rowland into the Eidolon system but more difficult to put the Spectral into the Eggleston because I would have to switch interconnects and speaker cables - due to the Spectral requirement for MIT only.

Based on what I know to be true about the Rowland vs the Gamut, I would expect your assumption about the Rowland being a little warmer to be valid, but having never heard a same-time direct comparison I can't really say definitively.

I do think that the Rowland does a better job than the Gamut on powering the Andras to their full potential on orchestral crescendos etc. because of its huge power reserve. Detailing, resolution, soundstaging, are all exemplary.

I am quite pleased with the Rowland.

Tympani,

I haven't heard the latest Classe but was never a fan of their sound. I have many friends that owns them so it was strictly a personal taste issue.

Ps68,

I'll check out ASR Emitter when I want to simplify my all tube system. Just spent $3000+ retubing and still enjoy the flexibilty in tube rolling changing the sound depending on my mood.

Jprice,

Thanks for the overview. My biggest concern with an integrated is the lack of power to drive the Andra so it's great to hear that the Rowland has the capability.

Hey Tvad,

The Pass Labs XA-60.5 might work okay for a small room, but it would be hard pressed to drive the dual 12 inch woofers to full effect in a medium to large room. The Andra II is fairly inefficient @ 88 db (with 6 ohm minimum).

I use the 200 wpc hybrid Lamm M2.1s and they seem to have enough muscle to get those big woofers to move quickly and tightly. IMHO, the minimum would be 100 wpc, and 200 will pretty much get all that these speakers can put out. (FYI, the Manufacturer recommends a minimum of 30 wpc (small room) up to 300 wpc).

I would love to try these speakers with the VAC Phi 300.1 stereo amp. It is a fantastic tube amp with 150 wpc. (But, unfortunately, that would mean buing all new cables, something that I am not willing to do at the moment.)

My two cents worth.