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
Handy thread, I am in similar boat. Looking for a mid-priced Tube amp to sit between a Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 with a LO MC Sumiko cart going into a Phono-stage and some Frisk 251 MTMs.

I have fairly wide price band, ideally looking for something around $1000-1500 but will willingly go lower if amp has features I am hoping for and maybe up into $2XXX if value/$ seems right.

Sitting at low-end of my range:
- Yaqin MC-100B w/ KT88 -- I could even hop south of the border and take a drive to Toronto to pick one up from Canadian distributor (Yes, I said south so you can guess where I am)
- The hybrid Rogue Sphinx is an option, doesn’t have the aura of full tubes but checks boxes for price/features, including headphone. But has a high input sensitivity (1V whereas most of the phono-stages I am considering are in the 350-600mV range)
- Middle of range, the Jolida 3502S seems to check most boxes, especially tube flexibility and pretty decent reviews and discussions - except no headphone amp
- Sitting highest in my range (which seems to be growing) is the Rogue Cronus Magnum II - has headphone and a phono (which will require a SUP due to the LO MC). But this also has relatively high input sensitivity and again powerful than what I need

And unlike another first-time poster, I like the look of the Primaluna :) ... on short list too but with features I want they too get pricey

BTW, I am leaning towards to the Tavish Vintage 6SL7 for my phono.. has great reviews, apparently very accurate, big soundstage and not too tubey... and wife approved! Adding this in case anyone wants to make the case for SS or vote for the Hybrid Sphinx.

Thanks in advance for suggestions and comments
Andrew
@andr3wd
I heard the Rogue Cronus Magnum II and was quite impressed. If I were in the market for a tube amp, it would be at the top of my list.
I would also look at the Marantz PM-11s3. Mine has been nothing short of amazing since I’ve first listened to it! I pushes, no bullies my set of 4 ohm speakers with authority yet musicality I am still impressed with every time I listen to music!
It has unfortunately jumped in price since the PM-10 was introduced but can still be found under your $3500 price point if patient.
I haven’t owned any of the other Integrates listed here but I have demo’d the PM-11s3 against the Hagel H200, the Devialet 200, the NAD Master Series M2 and the Marantz outclassed them all to me, some by a long shot.
I would love to hear one of the top Yamaha Integrated and Accuphase Integrateds.... The best of the Japanese made ones including the Marantz PM-11s3 have such a sweet warm sound yet are so fast and clean! One never gets tired of their sound no matter how long the listening session  
I’ve owned an older Plinius Class A power amp and it’s very nice indeed. Great sound and excellent build quality (like a tank) but I had to let it go as the amp did not match my loudspeakers at that time.

The Naim Nait XS may sound nice but I don’t think it’s the equivalent of the Plinius Hautonga in both price and performance. It might be worthwhile to audition the Naim Supernait 2 as this one is more comparable to the Hautonga with a more powerful and dynamic presentation. Other options include Exposure 3010S2-D and Densen B150. Ultimately the choice will be dependent your listening taste apart from the speakers that will be used with the amp.