Looking for a SS integrated Amplifier recommendation going into a new system
@larryro2
Interesting comment. May I ask if you went through some of these *before* factoring in room acoustics? My greatest (audiophile) fear is that I flip gear bc I haven't done enough to deal with the room, first.
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I got one of the two amps here, a Luxman L509X, and just have it connected earlier tonight. The initial impression is very positive, but there are going to be some additional changes/tweaks I need to do to the setup over the next several days, but I really like what the Luxman is presenting. I am still trying to get the 590AXii here to compare, but it will be a bit of delay until early Jan-2022. |
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The biggest problem I've run into is that few equipment makers have enough inputs and outputs. They also do not work automatically or intuitively. Adjustments need to be made on the amp or player to make them run and when you change discs, the process starts over again. On top of that while SACDs sound better, I do not find 4 or 5 channel listening enchanting. After going through this for several years, I decided to stick with stereo, even listening to multi channel media. Like you, I have found a value in buying these obscure editions. Like you, I have found my quad records, my SACDs and my DVD audios to have climbed in value. Besides many of them are mixed a bit differently, so they are collectable Best of luck to you. Steven |
Thank you all for the inputs. They are great thus far and help me to check into some wasn't on my original search path. I will have a chance to do home audition for Luxman 590AXii early next month and if I could arrange the schedule well, I plan to get a Belles Aria Signature here to do a test drive as well. Not having first hand experience with Belles Aria Signature, I wonder if anyone can provide some experience on this unit? If everything works out as planned, I will see if I can get a PASS Int 25 for a test drive as well. Meanwhile, there are couple stores I contacted will have audition schedule available next month. It is going to be a busy December. |
Since I can recommend only what I have owned or heard, I have three. If money was no object, I would buy a used Vinnie Rossi L2i. The new Vinnie is coming out soon and is significantly more expensive. The Vinnie made every speaker connected to it play beautifully, and I heard about a half dozen different pairs: different KEFs, Dynaudios, Dali’s, and QLNs. If I had a difficult room, I would consider a Lyngdorf. The DSP is great. I own a Simaudio 600i, purchased used, and have enjoyed it. It seems to check all my boxes. I am very tube curious, and I auditioned an Octave V 80 SE. Wow. Very nice, but it was just out of my price range. The bass was really something. And the tubes are so cool! Good luck. Keep us tuned in. |
If you want to buy a new amp I think the Bryston B135 is great Heard it at a dealer. https://twitteringmachines.com/review-bryston-b135-cubed-integrated-amplifier/ |
I have several kits, including the new Technics Su-R1000 easily driving Floor standing B&Ws with ease and it is an amazing 10K digital amp. However, as the OP has indicated a preference for Class A/B amps, my experience with those is also profound. I know many responses refer the Luxman 590. It is an excellent amp. Personally, I have McIntosh separates in my main system and a MA-:5300 running LS 50s in a small offi e set up. All produce excellent yet different signature sounds. My current favorite though is the new MICHI Line. I heard both the MX 3 and the MX5 and they are on your price point, heavy well made and amazingly dynamic. They range from. $6 to about $10k and are quite a package. Whatever you choose as always is subjective to your personal spund tastes and peripheral equipment being amplified. Good luck in your purchase. |
So..... I actually did an extensive 2 day demo in my home, blind side by side comparison of the Sierra towers with RAAL vs B and W 702 s2. You can see the results at AVS forum. Do a search on Ascend acoustics sierra tower vs 702 s2 and should pop up. In the end, the B and W speakers won the competition and ended up in my home for two years. I have since upgraded to Legacy Audio Focus XD speakers which are in a completely different league. Like you have have category’s of jazz and female vocals on my system so we are definately alike on that. The Sierra towers are wonderful speakers. Of all that I could bring into my home in that price range, they were 1 of 2 on my radar. Bottom line to their biggest weakness in my opinion was base. I suggest a nice pair of Rhythmic subs to compliment the towers and you will be very happy with just about any amp you would want to throw at them. Their strong point where they won out over 702s2 was just flat out rock and roll.... they kick ass but sounds like that is not your gig. Anyway, again, you cant go wrong with the sierra towers. They look pretty cool too. |
You have to demo any amp with your intended speakers. It’s difficult with so few remaining brick and mortar retailers left. I’m not familiar with your speaker, but numbers just don’t work. I went to demo the luxman in Atlanta and they were running kef blades. May have been the amp or the speakers, flat riled off top and bottom. Back home plan was to bring home the luxman for a demo with my paradigms but the demo had been purchased. Salesman put together esoteric f03 class a with Fyne 702. Thought esoteric was just digital. Bought the demo esoteric and and the 702 on the spot. Due to Covid delays it took 6 months for the Fynes to arrive. Hooked up the esoteric to my paradigms that have the same resistance and sensitivity as the Fyne and the result was unlistenable as the 30 watt class a could not drive the smallish bass drivers. So two thoughts, have to hear amp speaker combo unless returnable The esoteric was in a different league than the luxman, though the entry cost was 40 percent higher Happy listening |
@soix , Thank you for the suggestion, I may not have made it clear on how I am going to use the headphone amp from the lower output Class-A integrated Amp mentioned by others such as Pass Int 25 or Luxman 590AXII. With these amps, I will be using the speaker outputs instead of headphone output to drive my headphone. I do use a separate headphone amp, a GS-X mk2, but have been wanting to try Class-A speaker amp for while, and this might be the right time. The more I think about my setup and possible future path of my system setup, I might end up getting two amps instead of just one. First, try out a Class-A integrated amp that can drive both my headphone and this speaker system well, and later, getting a Class-AB amp that will match well with the Tower speakers I am waiting for the delivery. Appreciate all the inputs thus far, they help a lot in my search. |
mainly because I also plan to see how well they will drive my headphone that I listen to quite a bit.If headphones are important, at this level I’d get a separate headphone amp as the ones included in integrateds — even the better ones — are relative afterthoughts and not anything special at best (amps matter for headphones too!). When you can get a nice fully-balanced, Class-A headphone amp like the Singxer SA-1 for only $599 that’ll kick the crap out of any integrated’s headphone section, I can’t see using an integrated’s headphone section if you’re truly serious about headphone listening — and the SA-1 is small so not much of a space penalty for the level of benefit you’ll get. Just my $0.02 FWIW. |
Just another 2 cent opinion. With those AMT tweeters and the dimensions of your sound room, I would recommend amplification that is a touch on the warm side, whether you go SS, tube or hybrid, especially if the sweet spot does not have any or much space behind the listener(s) (e. g. chair or couch up against a wall, bookcase, etc.). Anything ruler flat accurate, I fear, will lead to listener fatigue in short order. McIntosh is a good bet, as well as Musical Fidelity, Luxman, Simaudio Moon and a few others. Good luck! |
Tk21 is right, many of the amp recommendations here are disproportionate to your speakers price wise. I strongly recommend a tube integrated since you probably will eventually want to tone down the brightness of the raals. Look into prima luna and as needed you can switch tubes to some mullard type NOS. If you go SS, whatever brand, you will have zero future control over your raals. Wish someone had told me that back then. However I got pretty lucky with the Marantz pm-15s2 since it was on the warm side. |
Does your DAC/streamer already have decent source-switching and volume control? If so, could you possibly go with a power amp (or a pair of them) instead of an integrated? If Peachtree interests you (previous post), you may want to consider the Nova 300 (or Nova 500) integrated amps. They offer not only more power than the 150, but also more advanced DAC chips. That could matter if you want to feed the amp any digital inputs directly, instead of feeding them through your separate DAC. For example, if you have two separate USB feeds and your DAC only receives 1. But all the Peachtree Novas have wooden enclosures, home theater bypass, loop I/O, phono (MM) input w/ground screw, and a noise-cancelling circuit to support direct input of iOS devices. No front panel displays (just LED indicator lights). Made in Canada. Your new speakers ran you about $3,200 USD, right? So from that perspective, maybe Peachtree pricing for an integrated amp ($1500-$3K) makes more sense than some of the much more expensive suggestions above. If you wanted to go with a power amp, the Benchmark AHB2 (with phenomenal specs) goes for about $3K. |
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CV6kvuFlYnI/?utm_medium=copy_link Not sure if this link will work, but you’ll see my Diablo with a DCS Bartok and the Serafino’s… |
Have you ever auditioned Gryphon integrated amps…? I owned both the Diablo 120 and then upgraded to the Diablo 300. Talk about detail - iron fist control - speed - massive headroom - power - soundstage - gorgeous highs and chest thumping lows. I was driving a pair of Sonus Faber Serafino’s and at 90db sensitivity there was oodles of power. (600 watts per channel into 4ohms) I did compare it to a McIntosh MA352 hybrid and my ears instantly preferred the Gryphon. They pop up used every once in a while, but I got my Diablo 300 brand new for $11,500 from “A Higher Note” in LA. Google reviews on both amps. Only draw back for me was I didn’t love they way they look. Darth Vader would have been proud to call the Diablo “My Son”…. but function over form…right..? I should tell you that I have since sold the Diablo 300 for an ARC 160s and REF 6SE - Not a fair fight really, but maybe you should consider a tube piece of gear. Like me, sounds like your ear is leaning that way. Anyway - I swear the Diablo blew away the 2-3 McIntosh amps I compared it to…and the only pieces I preferred were in the $30k price range. good luck…! |
All this gear is great but room acoustics will make or break any system. I have owned Boulder Belles Dynaco Mcintosh Peachtree Arcam and I would suggest consider service too my latest experience I was with Peachtree and service is excellent Any of the above combos will wott r k v well in a good room currently I am using a Peachtree nova 150 and it’s excellent have fun |
Hi hard to select these days I just changed from 50 yrs of separates to peachTree nova 150 and am v v v pleased. no excessive heat since it’s class D! not my first class D system! the customer service is excellent as well! the unit has great sound not bright and can listen for hours! Great sound stage clean bass too good luck |
Thank you all, again, for all the great inputs. This is going to be an interesting journey in the next few months to see what works the best in my system. So far, I am very high on the two class-A integrated amps recommended, the Pass Int 25 and Luxman 590AXII, mainly because I also plan to see how well they will drive my headphone that I listen to quite a bit. Meanwhile, some other recommendations also got my attention, such as Hegel, Belles...etc., I will see what I can do to get some of these amps for a home audition. |
I have similar musical tastes to yourself and home demoed a few SS integrated amps. It is worth trying to hear a few as some, to my ears, are over-detailed and fairly dry sounding compared to the sound signature you describe that you prefer. I would recommend Vitus for a very natural, slightly warm, very rich sound, especially the SIA-025 which is class A. Or for a warmer, more velvety, but less detailed, sound then the Luxman range. Personally I preferred the Vitus as the Luxman sound was a bit too dampened, but on certain music it shone. Given the warmth of a 50s Sinatra recording and the Luxman was to die for. But move to a classical piece and the Vitus shone brighter. Overall to my ears the Vitus has the best of all with little compromise. I have not heard Pass amps but hear good things. |
the rega brio R sounded class A "tubey warm" to me when i gave it an extended listen. 50 watts per side. totally unharsh with waveform-rounding circuitry at max power to avoid clipping. acts somewhat like an SET in that respect. runs somewhat warm, just like a typical class SET. sweet trebles. round bass. compact. |
I recently put together a system using Pass INT 60 and really love it. It has 30 w/ch pure class A and another 30 class A/B. More than enough power to drive my Volti Razz speakers. New the INT 60 is 9,000 but used ones can be found on the used market. I paid 6,500 for a 6 yo unit and it is flawless. |
Have a look at AVM from Germany. I just got their SA8.2 power amp, which I am currently driving direct from my PS Audio DS Dac. Sounds absolutely amazing. Warm, luscious, detailed but not fatiguing. I am using them to drive focal sopra 3s. Was previously using the Anthem STR integrated but the AVM is in another league. |
@Op, I had the exact same Sierra towers with raal and ran them first with a marantz pm-15s2 and later on with a parasound halo a23. I thought I loved the sound of both until I got a pair of PBN speakers which opened my ears to the fact that the raal tweeters were just to thin in their presentation even so they gave a great sense of space. Mainly they did not sound strong enough to fill the room with a solid realistic sound. After experiencing the solid live like sound of the PBN Montana XPS, I could not ever go back to the light beautifully airy sound of the Sierra towers. However they were a great step up in my audiophile journey. If I could do it over I would pair them with a leaning dark sounding amp for sure. |
OP- I have the 590AXII, Nothing against Pass or Hegel as I was able to listen to them also, just liked the features and sound a bit more and the phono pre (MC for me) in it is fantastic. FYI, Luxman rates it 30 watts pure class A, some reviews have measured it as high as 90. Regardless, I traded in a well-regarded 200 watt Class D and do not miss it at all. Best of luck in whatever you choose. |
