@roxy54 , I have been having great success partnering the Devore 0/93 speaker with the Sugden Masterclass IA-4 Integrated, which runs purely in Class A and maxes out at 33 watts per channel. It sounds so vivacious, energetic, and full of life, and also... smoooth!
The speakers disappear, the soundstage extends wall-to-wall (really amazing), the midband is liquid, attack is musical and unforced, decay is beautifully extended, center fill is flawless, bass is insistent and has strong pitch definition but perhaps I have heard firmer, treble is fatigue-free and silky, and it manages that nice balancing act of being absolutely brimming over with tonal saturation without sounding at all tentative or ponderous in pace – quite the opposite, it sounds very crystalline, clear, and alive. Honestly, it feels like a sunny wide-open set of French doors onto every record. You can tell the preamp is a thing of beauty (I can’t wait to try its pre-outs just for fun) and that the Sugden Class A output is just sumptuous.
I want to compare this with some other unusual integrateds I’ve had recently. This is a stunning, always immersive, combination that feels grander and more beautiful, though perhaps less ultimately transparent, than my recent pre-produciton Linear Tube Audio Ultralinear (with passive volume), and slightly more technicolor rich than the more self-effacing but also very pretty sounding Linear Tube Audio Z10. I never want to turn it off.
As an aside: the IA-4 has a ton of gain, so with the very sensitive Devores I was compelled to insert 12db attenuators at the line input I am using just to gain more control at the lower end of the volume potentiometer (which was actually really well channel balanced and noiseless to begin with). This just goes to show that Sugden was confident it would hold its own with lower sensitivity speakers and also honors low input legacy sources. A classy decision.
Also: I feel that it sounds way better plugged direct to wall than via my AudioQuest Niagara 1000, which slightly restricts its dynamics. I have ordered a Stellar P3 from PS Audio and have my fingers crossed this works to clean up my dirty, downtown NYC AC. Basically, it already has a highly invulnerable power supply and it always sounds glorious!
Oh, and it looks the part too! It feels (and is) very special. Thank you for validating this direction and for your kind wishes! My incoming 300B push-pull amp has its work cutout for it if it's going to best the Sugden in my system; I have my doubts!
