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Mid grade Integrated amp choices

Currently, I have a Rotel A12, which is decent, but I am ready to upgrade. My other equipment is a Bluesound Node 2, Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit turntable, and Sonus Faber Chameleon T speakers with Nordost cabling throughout. At first, I was going to upgrade speakers, but after home auditioning the Dynaudio Contour 20's and Focal 1008 Be's, I felt that my integrated was the weakest link currently. 

 So, I have been auditioning a few amps (several at home) for the last few weeks. So far, I have home auditioned:

NAD 388 (with the BluOS card) - Class D gives weight to bass, but otherwise, it's just okay
Simaudio Moon ACE - Nice, certainly better than the Rotel, very good warranty and build
Simaudio Moon 340i - Seemed too boomy with bass and a little brittle on the top end
Bryston b60r - Nice, really good sound. Great warranty
Plinius Hautonga - Blew me away. Yes, the 200 watts may have had a lot to do with it. But, the soundstage was huge and everything was so detailed.

I will be dealer auditioning this Friday:

Rega Elex -R
Rogue Sphinx
Naim 5si

Anyone have any experience with the Rega, Rogue or Naim against the Plinius? I don't know if I want to spend that much on an integrated right now and am hoping that one of the ones I am auditioning Friday will blow me away. Thoughts? Comments?

-Brian   
128x128bkmaxey
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,802 posts
 
We have a Plinius hutonga if you are interested 
bkmaxey's avatar
bkmaxey OP
37 posts
 
Op, looks like you want the Plinius amp. Audiophiles must get what they want. :) Why don't you just save up for it? In the meanwhile, go listen to a few more amps...hee hee. Btw, per jl35, the Belles Soloist 1 is a great sounding amp for it's price.


That's likely what I'll wind up doing. It sure is fun to listen to all these :)
timlub
2,040 posts
 
There are several nice integrateds.... your speakers are 90db 4 ohm.  So as long as you have a good power supply on the amp, 40 watts minimum should drive them, unless you are in a big room.  If power supply is a problem,  you'll need to look at more power.  I've owned the Audio Refinement Complete,  it is 50 watts to 8 and 90 watts to 4 ohms.  It is very satisfying and competes with expensive separates, so I second that recommendation,  Also I saw the Belles Soloist recommended.  If it fits in the budget,  I would go to the Aria Integrated on the Belles line.  Nothing wrong with the Soloist, but if you run across the Aria, It is a bit more refined than the Soloist. The Audio Refinement does compete with the Belles well and is less expensive, but the Aria has a decent phono section built in also.  I hope this helps,  Tim 




twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
Ayre AX-7.  The 7-series is being discontinued, so you should find good deals on new or dealer demo.
bkmaxey's avatar
bkmaxey OP
37 posts
 
I am also going to be testing a Devialet 120 (store demo price) for the next few days. This one looks interesting, with a lot of cool tech features.
 
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