What is the best tube integrated amp?

To Springbok10 : I am a previous owner of a Jadis Orchestra reference. Absolutely, positively NO WAY THAT the Jadis ''blows away'' everything in this price range. It's a nice amp mind you, but let's not get carried away here.Given the price, you can do much better. As for your comment to the effect that ''If you can suffer the hassle and pain of biasing the unit''...well, most of us cannot suffer this hassle, meaning that you will have to enjoy your Orchestra with improper biasing most of the time, shortened tube life and short-changed musicality. I did bias my unit once, what a pain, to say nothing of the nearby lethal electricity inside once you get to it.

Regarding the future of Audio, the Orchestra will actually give reason to the no-longer-valid idea that owning tube gear is a pain. Sonically speaking, it is a fine amplifier - but has been outpaced by more recent, efficient, and mostly more user-friendly design such as the TA-30 from Cayin. Of course, Jadis owner would never admit to this. Image, a chinese-made product for a fraction of the price that competes with the Cayin? Well it's true of course and the consumer can get at last, his money's worth and more. If only on the tube-rolling potential ( upwards of 10 different tube types can be used on the Cayin with the extended bias option), the TA-30 opens-up many possibility for experiencing and enjoying tube types. Sonically speaking, the small Cayin is right up there with the Jadis with the standard EL34 tubes, - and smokes it when you start to tube roll. Sorry, no contest, especially considering the price. If Jadis were smart, they would at least respect their owners by providing some for of safe, external bias. No longer can you expect people to pay high prices for a ''Name'' where the performance does not stack up. I am in NO WAY associated with Cayin, I am not a dealer, or a ''reseller'', but I do own this TA-30 gem. I felt that I just had to respond to this somewhat free comment about the Jadis being the end-all, it simple is not so.

Mcintosh 2275 Integrated should be on the list. Agreed?

Audiokicks, I am also a Jadis Orchestra Reference owner. I should also say that I was the previous owner of Denis' (Springbok10) amplifier.

When I got the amplifier together with the JJ EL34 tubes, I began burning it in on a Friday evening, and by Sunday, with my Coincident Digital Master/Troubass subwoofers, I have never had better sound in my system. And, I have some pretty well respected, not to mention much more expensive, amplifiers. The JOR not only outclassed them, but flat out outclassed them.

If it was true that at its price, you could do much better, I would run out in a heartbeat and pay every cent of the retail price to have that sound in my system again.

A lot of what you say is correct about it being a pain in the teeth to bias, but after getting comfortable with it, I can perform the "biasing" part of the procedure in about three minutes. Having two meters makes things easier, but I can manage with one if I needed to. The task I loath is reassembling it. Still, I can think of no other tube amp that requires nearly as much effort.

If I still owned the amp, I would have holes in the bottom plate so that I would not have to disassemble the JOR when I biased it, and it would be a no muss, no fuss three minute job.

And, if the six years I got out of my Ei KT90s (averaging between 10 - 20 hours/week) is shortened tube life, then I wish all of the tube amplifiers I have owned over the years had this kind of shortened tube life. After six years, one of the KT90s was shorted with no damage to the amp (didn't know it until I measured the tubes one day), and the other three were still in the "GOOD" range by about 25%.

Now, I am personally a fan of the Cayin products, but the JOR is 3 - 4 steps up the ladder on my own personal scale.

Answering the real question of the thread, based on what I see, my vote for best tube integrated would probably be the Jadis DA50.

Probably too late, but i would say BAT vk-300x, McIntosh, or Musical-Fidelity Trivista series.

Not sure if Aesthetix makes an (I) or not. VTL is also a good idea.

The Eastern Electric is a real winner! Very toneful and tuneful, inner details with excellent bass. Put the unit through its paces with a pair of Altec model 18 604-8H speakers. These speakers are merciless for the correct tonation, balance and details. No sibulance, but pure musical tones, depth and structure. The M520 is extremely well built, great output trannies, can use another preamp of choice. I liked the zero feeback mode, in pentode class A operation 24 watts per channel, will put many SET amps to shame. Extremely low noise, great PP dynamics and tone.