YBA Integre vs. YBA / Audio Refinement Complete


One is about half the price of the other used. Integre gets Stereophile Recommended. This is to power Soliloquy 5.3s. Which one? Looking at recent production.

Still deciding on the CD (but am looking at the YBA Integre CD or Rega Planet or the Ah! Tjoeb 4000).
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I used to have the Complete integrated matched with the 5.3's. I sold my Complete and bought a used Plinius 8100, it's in a totally different league for only about 300-400 dollars more. More detail, soundstage, bass, palpability. Think of an audiophile word and the plinius has added that to my stereo in spades. Think of the 8100 as a better Audio Refinement because they have a very similar sound, just the Plinius does what they do better. I don't have any experience with the Integre, but the Plinius is great especially considering that you can pick them for about 1000 used, good luck.
Same company same design same enginnering team. One is made in France, One is made in Asia. Listen closly the YBA is Better but not twice as good.
I have the Audio Refinement Complete in my second system and it is an amazing little amp. I have never listened to the YBA Integre, so I can't comment on it. I can say though that the ARC is so good that it is a cable-tweaker's delight. With a good power cord and good interconnects from the source and good speaker cables to some decent speakers, this little integrated is truly a "Giant-killer".
twice as expensive never equals twice as good. Should it? The difference is well worth it, in this case. peace, warren