Why the facination with integrated amps?

After a lot of research I choose the Theory plus Application "T+A" PA3000 with the optional phono module ~$18.5k. As Audio Doctor outlines above; I believe purchasing separates that could delivery the same performance levels at this price point would be difficult to replicate. Plus, not to mention taking up considerably more space.

In the PA3000 the preamplifier and power amplifier sections are physically separated. It’s a true dual-mono design; with separate left and right channels. From the owners manual " The PA 3000 HV features complete and consistent channel separation in the signal processing stages (double-mono construction), and for this reason the input and output sockets are also arranged in strict symmetry relative to the centre of the machine."

Power ratings for the PA3000 are 300W RMS per channel into eight ohms 700W peak per channel into to four ohms.

One thing that I found interesting is that this integrated supports bi-wiring.

Again from the manual "The two pairs of terminals are ideally suited for use in the bi-wiring arrangement in conjunction with high-quality loudspeakers. For bi-wiring mode connect the bass range to output A, and the mid-range / treble range to output B."

I'll bite. I bought a hegel int and owned a couple int's before that. I had a Krell int that had class a pre and the power side baked so I used as a pre amp for several years while going thru a parade of power amps. Every Int i've had offers main outs so I can add a second amp when I need and having a second amp to drive the bass can help speakers that present a difficult load in my experience. The biggest downside of using an int is the lack of good heat dissipation. Dollar for dollar we should expect more value buying a 3 in 1 compared to a pre, and 2 monoblocks just in the aluminum face plates alone. In a fair market.

Well  my Parasosund A21 2ch amp is 65 lbs. You research the build if you desire but you can't stuff that quality into an integrated…But I have had plenty of integrated also, Onkyo makes up second system, Yamaha is in garage both are 15 years old plus…It's all good and comes down to what you can afford and space available.

bac2vinyl we are a Parasound dealer and the A21 is an excellent amplifier for its price, howerver, a $6k Coda intergrated sounds far superior, then the A21 with the P5  preamp, which would be a $3,500 package, as we demoed that combination vs the Coda CS 1b, and the Hegel and Luxman Integrateds  we had at the time and those pieces, still sounded clearer, just because you have a heavy weight product it has nothing to do with sound quality. 

The A21 and 21+ will deliver a lot of clean power for the price point the higher end gear is more expensive due to parts quality, a Coda CS 1b uses a 3kv tranfomer, vs a 1.2vk transformer in the A21+, that is just one reason why it sounds better. 

Josephep, congratuations on the T+A PA 3000 HV it is an extraordinary integrated amplifier, love to know the rest of your system?

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ 

audiotroy I really like your take!  I started out with receivers, Pioneer, Technics and Onkyo then went to the NAD 3020 integrated when it first came out and really though it was pretty darn good. After that I wanted to try the seperates route. I had Adcom, Cary SLA-80 w/ Audible Illusions Modulus preamp and Blue Circle. pretty nice stuff but still had that hankering for a good integrated and I've been "integrated" since. I've had an Audiomat Arpege, C.R. Developments Kalypso then a step up to C.R.'s Romulus. I then went to SS and tried a Sonneteer Campion which I still have but wanted more power and now have a Primare i30 which is very good match to my speakers so I'm pretty pleased these days.