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Integrated recommendation help

Please recommend integrated  for Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
128x128kielecki
theothergreg
222 posts
 
Now that I have that out of my system, paraneer is right, you have a nice set of speakers with lots of flexibility. In addition to your budget, it would be helpful if let us know what other components you intend to use (cd player, turntable, music server, etc), the size of your room and any shortcomings of your current system which makes you want a new integrated. Once we have that information, we can provide you with much more focused suggestions.
kielecki's avatar
kielecki OP
3 posts
 
would like to stay under 2-3 k
I was looking at belcanto integrated or mcintosh ( I know this is over my budget) , main source of music will be CD and Sonos (possibly DAC purchased later)
theothergreg
222 posts
 
In that price range, I would take a look at the Parasound HINT ($2,500) as it has nice power (John Curl design, too!) to drive your speakers and already has an excellent built-in DAC.

http://www.parasound.com/hint.php
mlsstl
1,437 posts
 
I have a Bel Canto C5i and really enjoy it. I don't have Sonus Faber speakers, but my Golden Ear Triton 7s are similar in terms of sensitivity. The C5i is much more powerful sounding than its 60 watts a channel (8 ohms) would indicate. Power fully doubles at 4 ohms which indicates a good power supply. The sound is very smooth in the highs -- quite tubelike and extended -- and the bass is deep and solid. I have been very pleased with it. My only criticism is the display -- one would think in this modern age of electronics that they could do a little better than the green calculator digit display. However, it is a great amp for the money. 

toneranger58
134 posts
 

Kielecki, I have owned the Peachtree Nova, Bel Canto, Hegel 300 and Hegel 160. The speakers I have are Joseph Audio RM25XL Mark 2, these speakers would be considered in the same range as yours.

The Peachtree was a nice warm sound with good imaging and depth but not near the Hegel level, which isn't surprising based on cost. I couldn't connect with the Class D Bel Canto, tried for months, finally went the Hegel route. The better your speakers the better the Hegel's sound. I demoed the Hegel 300 with a pair of Focal Sopra No.2, and it did everything I was used to but on a whole other level. Not just a step up but a major leap, what I am trying to say is the Hegel has many higher gears in it and would support speakers at 4 times it cost should you ever decide to go to a higher level speaker in the future, which I am now doing with the Focal's. Test the Hegel's they are really good, also plenty of reviews available. Just my opinion. Happy hunting.

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