Favorite integrated amp?

Through the last few months, I`ve been researching, reading tons of reviews and learning from the contributors in this forum.

For starters, I`m attracted to the ref. 3a di cappo i speakers for their high efficiency and their ability to be driven by low-powered set amps which I might use in the future.

For a source, I like what I read about the meridian 508.24 cdp.

I haven`t decided on an int. amp yet but the the belles 250-i has gotten my attention from the beginning.

Of course, I`ve made these decisions without hearing anything. Where I live, it`s impossible to audition anything so I`m basically going by what I read.

Tough way to start, huh? In any event thanks for the in-put so far. I`d like to hear more testimonials...

I have a Bel Canto eVo2i integrated and love it. They are fairly rare, but I think there is one being advertised right now. It is basically the eVo 200.2 power amp and the Pre-1 preamp in a single chassis, with one of the preamp gain stages removed. If you like the Bel Canto class-T amp sound, which I think is incredibly balanced across the frequency spectrum, you'd like this. The preamp section adds is very transparent. Power amp output is 120 wpc in to 8 ohms, 200 wpc in to 4 ohms. If you want more details, you should check out the review at www.6moons.com. I think SoundStage is going to be reviewing it soon as well.

The Meridian you are considering is a great unit. I would also recommend the Wadia 830. Great sound . . very quick and detailed, but not gratingly so.

Whatever you decide, good luck with your audio quest!

Audiomat Arpege. $1200+/- used. 30w/c tube. Liquid gold.
Using with JM Reynaud Offrande speakers, Ah!4000 tubed CD player, Phillips SACD1000, and Music Hall MM7 TT.

second the Audiomat tube integrateds: self-biasing; EL-34 tubes are run conservatively and built quality is Sherman-tank like. Above all, incredibly musical.

The Prelude Ref is excellent, if you can stretch the budget a bit to ~$2,500 used (two on the 'Gon for sale right now), although above recommendation of Arpege is also a solid choice.

Bryston B60 - Using mine in a bi-amp setup with the B60 driving the midrange/tweeters on Apogee Stages, with a Bryston 3B handling the woofers. Able to drive these 3 ohm speakers to wall shaking volumes and sound so smooth...