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Search for miracle integrated

Hello All,

I'm on a search for a very specific type of integrated. I am upgrading my system from the top of the stream down. I go all digital / Lossless quality or higher so the logical start was with the DAC. I just received my Yggdrasil which I absolutely LOVE and feel that I got a much better value than I was expecting (even with all the praise online it met and exceeded my expectations).

My quest continues with the integrated. I am looking for a company that spends very little on marketing and works to move as much of the value for the money to the product itself. Very high value is important to me, I want to get value above the price and I don't want to pay for anything I don't need (such as a built-in DAC as I already have one). The more musical and the higher the clarity the better. My short list is pretty short- the SimAudio Moon 600i and Ayre's integrated.  Some other factors are below. I typically buy new but I'm open to a good value in a used product as well.

Budget (only for the integrated): $8K+/-
Music preference: classical, light rock, pop
End speakers:  It is between Accoustic Zen Crescendo / Vandy Quatros / Wilson Sophias / Revel Salon Ultimas 
Power: 150 WPC+ into 8 ohm

xerotrace
arsh
367 posts
 
Consider a used Musical Fidelity NuVista 800 (13k new). No one talks about it, but it is phenomenal. Would be in your price range used. One (very big and heavy) box, plenty of power to drive any speaker, and good aesthetics (IMHO). 
soix
9,549 posts
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this so far, but I'd highly recommend at least nailing down if not outright purchasing your speakers first.  At this level all the integrateds you'd consider will be very good.  The only remaining questions are which one sounds best TO YOU and, just as importantly, which one is better capable of driving and which sounds best to you with YOUR SPEAKERS.  Case in point, would one amp sound the best with both the AZs and the Vandys?  Maybe, but probably not.  They're very different designs and loads.  Anyway, just wanted to raise this as a potential issue, and best of luck in building a great system. 

jafant's avatar
jafant
19,719 posts
 
arsh,

is the MF made (in part) in china?
arsh
367 posts
 
Jafant,

i believe it is partly built in Taiwan. Build quality is outstanding. Very high level of fit and finish, and I am pretty picky about that. You could take a look at Fremer's review, as well as a long thread on Audioshark about it. It really is a great amp IMO. I have no desire to change at all (have had it over a year now). 
xerotrace OP
30 posts
 
The musical fidelity seems to be a nice amp, very nice actually!

It is not a bad idea to do the speakers first. I wanted to see how good I can get my legacy classics to sound by improving the signal upstream. Even with my current NAD integrated (I think it is the BEE 356) I feel like I'm getting pretty close to maxing out the capability of those speakers. My listening room sounds sooo good right now and that is with a less than ideal amp. I'm really leaning to the AZ's so another reason for the amp first is the money. I don't want to drop $18k this year on Hifi it is just not in the budget so I'm thinking amp first then speakers soon after. 

I tried to google the LSA but couldn't find anything. Is that short for something? As long as there is enough power I'm completely open to tube and hybrid systems. 
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