Integrated amp -- Pass Labs vs Luxman vs McIntosh


I posted a similar query earlier but did not get a lot of responses unfortunately. As mentioned before, my speakers are Sonus Faber Olympica II, currently driven by Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, in a 20x15 dedicated media room. As an aside, I’m already working with GIK acoustics to treat the room. As much as I love the Cronus Magnum II, it’s clearly struggling with the speakers and room dimensions. I have been doing some research and narrowed my choices to the following (Note: mostly looking for used since my budget is $5 - 6k max)

Pass Labs INT-60 -- love the fact that the first 30 watts are all Class A; these don’t come up for sale often though. I’ve heard that these are as close to the tube sound one can get without compromising what makes SS great. I listened to INT-150 a couple of years ago and was really impressed. From what I’ve read, the 60s are clearly a step up in every way. Besides, I’ve always been fascinated by Pass Labs.

Luxman 590AXII -- I have yet to read anything negative about these. I like the fact that they are a class A design. Unfortunately, the only Luxmans I’ve listened to were 20+ years old and did not leave much of an impression (polite to a fault).

McIntosh MA352 -- A friend has the smaller brother, MA252, which I really like but not sure if they have enough juice to drive my speakers. None of the dealers near me carry the MA352 so I have to rely on feedback alone. I like the fact that this is a hybrid.

Another suggestion from a dealer is Naim SuperNait 3, but honestly I don’t know if it competes in the same playground as the aforementioned amps.

My goal is to find a nice balance between the strengths of tubes and SS -- retain good 3D soundstage, instrument separation, midrange magic, but not at the expense of bass and dynamics. I do understand that I cannot expect an SS, regardless of class A or not, to have the same lush, holographic presentation of tube amps, but want something that gets as close as possible.

I would love to listen from owners or people who have heard the amps before. Since I’m buying used, I will not have the opportunity to return them so due diligence is necessary.




128x128arafiq
Is it just me but the guy was just saying how the tube ARC GSI75 was so much better than the other integrateds...

...and the guy just replaced it with a ss Luxman.
Ok , I guess some threads are just weirder  than others...
@jjss49 Yes, the ARC came with a very thin (I think 18 guage) wire which kind a surprised me. Except for the first couple of days, most of my listening was done using the same Cerious Technology PC. I am still quite surprised by how much of a difference it made. Honestly, I would have been very skeptical had I not experienced it myself.

BTW, as I said in an earlier post, when I listened to the Luxman at the dealer, I felt that it was a very, very close second. I also said I could have lived with either one. But the fact is that all my auditions were done at someone’s house or the dealer. When I compared the Luxman and ARC in my setup, the Luxman edged it out. Not sure why someone would find it ’weird’.
Ohh the truth came out. You never really compared them head to head in the first place ... »someones house or the dealer »... After the buy, it is then you did a real a to b test in your house setup...

Next time please be more specific the first time, so we can avoid this kind of discussion again...

I used weird because your move seemed awkward. Now that you told us exactly what really happened, I take that back and replace « weird »by... « not really serious tests in the beginning »...