Best Integrated Amp, Price no obstacle?

jadis da60

Price no object, the VAC top of line is a magnificent sounding piece from a great company.
The VAC will sound musical at all times, and have factory backing second to none.
Kevin Hayes is one of the great designers around.

I second Budrew's request for a comparison of the YBA Passion Integre with the Lavardin IS Reference, (or IT), by anyone who's had the chance to hear both.

While we're at it, there are some strong reviews out there for the Unison Unico SE and several of the Audiomat models, including the Opera. Anyone had a chance to compare these?

The VAC Avatar seems to be a strong contender. Much buzz about the new DK Design Group hybrid, I'd love to hear from folk who've actually heard and compared.

Not heard the Musical Fidelity KW500 but the Tri-Vista bettered the Concentra II and ML383 when I was searching for a new amp.

The DK Design VS-1 Mk2 with a tube preamp stage and a solid state output stage is liquid and crystal clear with a rather pellucid presentation. It is also a beautiful design and built like a tank. I would be very surprised if anything at any price sounds appreciably better through a high resolution system.

An all tube integrated design will not likely have a lot of bass impact unless you have very efficient speakers and Jazz and Classical contain a lot of bass information. Maybe with horns..

As far as all solid state goes, I would seriously consider the Plinius integrated even if it is relatively inexpensive. Their separate amps are easily some of the best sounding available at any price and the integrateds retain much of the same character of sound. Unless you are using ribbons or electrostatics(and even then)you'll approach the liquidity of tubes and retain the phenomenal bass response this equipment is known for.