jl35 Thank you again for your recommendations I believe you mentioned the Rowland Capri before; it which looks stunning but how does it sound??. The Odyssey Stratos is a viable alternative to the Khartago, but it is heavy and big, and I have a bad back.
I have seen a used ARC 150.2 amp on ebay which is 150RMS. It looks clean but was, according to the seller was issued in 1993 which means it is 23 years old. It got mixed reviews, some loved it; some claim it is garbage. Seller wants $1400, but that is too much. I believe its market value may be $950 regardless of it ARC pedigree. It is either a tube or hybrid amp, and the seller claimed he upgraded two tubes. I don't think he will back off much from his selling price
To rhljazz I am also am considering AVA,. I saw in the new issue of TAS, that Frank issued a new preamp, the Transcendence 8 ( retail is $899. However, his website is confusing because of all the options you can add, The pre-amp and power amp you mentioned, I saw and I will check out again because I thought that the phono stage and remote were extras which can add $600 to the final ticket.
In addition, despite AVA's reputation and service, they offer no discount. And I would like to stay under 3K. I could consider the SL Vision pre-amp with either the Khartago, or Stratos, or even the ARC, if I could buy it for say $950. The Stratos Plus is $1500. and Khartago Plus is $1375. However, I misstated before it was 130RMS, but it is only 110RMS. I want to find a combo that is a significant step up in sound quality from the Rogue Sphinx v.1 integrated BTW, I never heard any one on this blog make comment about the sound quality of AVA phono stages whether MM or MM/MC. The Rogue phono stage is a very good. Thanks guys. Jim