best budget integrated amp for rock n roll music?

ummm...mistral=best integrated under $5k?!

granted you have registered as a "commercial user" (and i applaud you for that small concession), but how many of us bother to check each and every user status for all of those who post in the forums? i know i don't unless something like this is brought to my attention..then again, i don't buy jack based on someone else's opinon. howevwer,the sad fact is that there ARE people who are easily swayed by what they read on-line.

your mistral flag waving hardly seems like an objective endorsement to me. if there's one thing i've learned though my own audition of various components, it's that you (usually) get what you pay for. there are bargains out there but i HIGHLY doubt a $1500 integrated is gonna stack up to many $5k pieces, much less ALL $5k pieces. not to mention that for that $5k, one could find some very good separates that would easily outperform most integrateds.

try to keep your self-serving pep rallies to a dull roar. ugh.

Dear FS,
I likewise am wholey impressed with the LFD Mistral integrated as well as the rest of their range.I find them easily to be amoungst the most musically adept electronics in their respective price ranges. They are possessing of rhythmic, dynamic and expressive qualities rarely found in components of their genre or pricepoints.As much as I appreciate the little Creeks, the Mistral to my tastes,which favors timing and emotional connection, is easily the more accomplished performer.In my opinion, the LFD is one of the best kept "secrets" in the current audio market.
Anyways,what I most objected to was the absence of qualification and expansion of your statement.Had you just added the reasons for your opinion, the recommendation would be of sharing your experiences with an excellent candidate for consideration rather than commercialism.
As industry members,I feel we have an extra responsibilty in the manner in which we conduct ourselves here.I apologise that my own behavior could have been better handled as,in retrospect,my response was unnecessarily strident.
Regards,
Ken
btw- if you search the archives here and at the other fora where I entertain myself(AA vinyl,in particular), you'll find that I regularly recommend the products of my competition specifically to avoid mention of my own.

S2k_dude,

You just don't get it do you. IMHO, the Mistral is the best. This is only my OPINION. Absolutely NOTHING in this industry is OBJECTIVE (except for actual electrical measurements, which themselves can sometimes be suspect). If you disagree, then that is fine. I must ask you this: Have you heard the Mistral and if so, what other integrated pieces did you compare it to? If you have not heard it, then you have ZERO basis for your statement, "i HIGHLY doubt a $1500 integrated is gonna stack up to many $5k pieces". Also, the poster was asking about integrated amps only, NOT separates. So your statement that "one could find some very good separates that would easily outperform most integrateds" may be true, but has no relevance in this thread.

Look, all I was doing was bringing up an integrated that had yet to be mentioned that the poster should consider. That is it. You want others that I like, fine: Creek, Plinius, Rowland, and Chord. But in the price range the poster was asking about, the Mistral is the one I recommend.

Also, I take great exception to your statement, "the sad fact is that there ARE people who are easily swayed by what they read on-line". You insult the general "audiophile" population (me included) when you make statements like that. EVERY customer I have EVER dealt with has been very careful when throwing around the kind of money that this hobby can sometimes require. They listen, contemplate, listen again, take a break from auditioning for an extended period of time, listen to competing products I recommend, listen to those I represent again, ad infinitum, then they make a decision. Why do you think there is so much traffic to audio forums like this and Audioasylum? Because these "easily swayed" people as you call them are in the middle of extensive research concerning the products they are interested in.

Finally, LIGHTEN UP. As important as listening to great music on great equipment is to us, there are MUCH more important things in this life.

...Mike - Father & Son Audio

Thanks for the reply. You are correct when you state that I should have qualified my statement. Actually, right after I posted my original message, I re-read it and thought to myself, "Uh-oh, this might be taken the wrong way." Sure enough, it was.

As you stated, we as industry members do have additional responsibility concerning our conduct. It is critical that we behave in a most ethical and professional manor. To not do so hurts everyone in our profession. I most sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone or if any of my statements seemed unethical, as it was most certainly not intended.

...Mike - Father & Son Audio

All the comments are worth noting. I had the Audio Refinement Complete for about 1 year, and it was a marvelous unit sonically and functionally. I sold it and bought the Mcintosh MA 6450 integrated amp...WOW!! The Mac has phenomenal sound, build quality, and function. I wanted the exotic, imported, audiophile brands, and the best unit was right here in the good ol' U.S.A. Go listen to, and operate a Mcintosh. Worth every dollar, and then some.

Best Regards,
Bennett