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Looking for a integrated DAC/AMP to power my Elac UF5's < $1500

Hi
I'm looking for some suggestions on a integrated DAC/AMP to power my Elac UniFi UF5's.
I listen to music of all genres, and my listening habit is usually on the nice 60-75 spl, but occasionally I like to "party" up to 85+spl.
My room is ~ 18x24 with vaulted ceilings and a listening distance of 9ft from the speakers.

My content is exclusively digital and will be fed to the DAC/AMP from the optical out of a Bluesound Node2 (not i).

I have been looking around but it seems that for every integrated amp I find, there is someone complaining about their sound quality and say "you can do a lot better for the money" but many don't go further and provide alternatives, where when there are, they may not seem suitable to the 4OHM/85dB efficiency of the UniFi's.

Greatly appreciate suggestions.
asilvr
asilvr OP
7 posts
 
Thanks. I will look into it.just for the record, here are some of the contents that I was looking at.

I started with getting an Emotiva PT-100+A300; heard that musicality and emotiva don't go well into the same sentence. :(

NAD C388 : avsforum seems to have a lot of unhappy customers, both with sound quality and reliability.

Hegel H80 : This one seems to be a beast, but I'm personally concerned about buying a 6 years old unit..

PeachTree Decco 125: Heard that it has a good DAC but the amp section is the weak link and leaves a lot to be desired.

I don't know if people are waayy to picky or there are only really not that many good options in my price range.
It seems that the ELAC's make everything worse due to low efficiency and 4 ohm, it greatly narrows down options available.

mike_in_nc
1,159 posts
 
I haven’t heard the others. I do have a Nuprime, which you’re welcome to listen to if you’re near Portland, Oregon. You could even bring over your speakers.

Nuprime also offers the IDA-16 (for more money, of course), with 2x the power output.
Good luck!
asilvr OP
7 posts
 
Thank you for the offer. Unfortunately I am in California.
I will keep an eye for some offers on either the Nuprime IDA8 or the Hegel. From what I been reading both are fine products
djones51
4,947 posts
 
There is a Peachtree Nova 300 for $1250 on Agon now. It should drive your speakers. 
soix
9,765 posts
 
Not sure if you want a DAC/Amp combo for space or what, but it somewhat limits your choices in your price range especially if you’re in need of some robust power.  If you can deal with a separate integrated amp and DAC you could pick up a new Rogue Sphinx V2 for $1100 from Acoustic Sounds and a used Schiit Bifrost Multibit for around $300 - $400 and have a very nice sounding and powerful system.  The Sphinx puts out 100Wpc and doubles to 200Wpc into 4Ohms, and you have the flexibility to swap the tubes in the preamp section to further customize the sound if desired.  Best of luck. 
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