Best Integrated, period.

I was fortunate enough to obtain a Dartzeel CTH-8550 integrated amp recently. I am not claiming it is the best integrated period as have not heard every integrated created in history. I doubt anyone has.

But it is so good as to give my CJ ACT2.2 and CJ Premier 350SA a run for its money and is threatening to replace it. The CJ combo is up there with the best pre and power out there at its price point so to have an integrated amp in the Dartzeel provide a very similar level of enjoyment says it all.

Well i am using a Chord CPM-2600 with a Chord One Cd player with 81db Acoustat's 1+1s with very nice results i can tell you after living with Acoustat's electrostatics for more than 27 years this is no easy feat for any amplifier i know that there are better amps out there but for how much money ?????.

[IMG]http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/MrAcoustat/AndrSystme1600x1200.jpg[/IMG]

Mr A what type of amplifier is the Chord?

Class A, AB, or is it a D class amp?

I know you never thought much of D amps before,perhaps the Chord is an exception, or you finally tried one and found out that D amps can have some merit.I liked the sound of my Red Draggon D amps.Andre, have you figured it out yet?

Anyway, it's off topic, but when I had Acoustat medallian 3 speakers I used a Conrad Johnson MV75A-1 and a CJ premier 2 preamp, and this was all the power I need to make the Acoustats sing.

I also used to own a nice Cary 300sei,it was great integrated,perhaps not the right match in this case, but one never knows unitl one tries.

I recently purchased the VAC Sigma 160i integrated amp with MC phono and balanced input.

This integrated amp is detailed but liquid and smooth and the bass is completely authoritative without any bloom. The 160i is neutral (not tubey at all), with great air, transparency, and top-end extension. Soundstaging is deep, wide, and tall with excellent image density and separation.

I admit I was very, very hesitant to give up my separates, especially my Art Audio Vinyl Reference. The MC phono of the 160i, like the VR, uses Lundahl transformers, has a very similar sonic character, and to my ears is every bit it's equal. Due, I suspect, in no small measure to the short signal path and common ground made possible by the integrated platform. IMHO, Kevin Hayes has truly designed a tour de force for the vinyl lover.

I have absolutely No Regrets musically, financially, or aesthetically! The VAC integrated allowed me to get rid of three HRS isolation bases, three expensive power cords, and two pairs of reference interconnects - an investment about equal to the separate components. My music room is a whole lot less cluttered-looking to boot.

For anyone looking for true reference level amplification in an integrated package and who has speakers that can be driven with 85 tube watts per channel, the VAC Sigma 160i may well put an end to your search. I give it the highest possible recommendation.

FWIW, I have also owned the ASR Emitter Blue and can say the VAC 160i beats it hands down. Also, the ASR is really more of an "integrated in function" amp, than an "integrated package" because it is not a one-box solution.

Footnote: While the VAC "Alpha Integrated" was the 160i's immediate predecessor, the 160i is not in any way a derivative of the Alpha Integrated design. The latter was a merging of circuits already developed and used in the Phi preamp and Phi amps. The Sigma 160i was designed from scratch on a blank sheet of paper. This no doubt accounts for its almost magical musical reproductive abilities. While it lacks the "eye candy" and "audio jewelery" qualities of the venerable Phi Beta 110i, it is in every other way a most worthy successor.

When deciding on a integrated amp for purchase, the most critical thing to look for are the noise level's. If the amp and preamp in the integrated have S/N levels below 100 db's than you will wind up with a noisy product. The Gryphon Diablo amp S/N ratio is a terrible 88 db's. The Krell S-300i also has poor number's. Preamp S/N is 93 db's and the amp S/N is 94 db's. Vitus refuses to put their S/N
numbers on their website for the new RI-100 integrated. The best value integrated amp which is dead quiet and has a very rich musical quality is the Simaudio Moon 700i. The Preamp S/N is 120 db's. Thats damn impressive and hard to find an integrated anywhere with that high number. The amp section has a S/N of 105 db's. These are the kind of numbers you find in separate components.