Best Integrated, period.

The amp I mentioned earlier has *plenty* of power and can drive most speakers with ease. Heck it drives my 88db, 4 ohm S5's in a medium size room...no problem. But power without magic is is just impressive for a while, then the novelty wears away when you realize something is missing from the music. As an audiophile of 24 years, I've learnt judging an amplifiers ability to control a given speaker load based on headline figures like RMS power is folly. An amp's ability to produce high current, remain stable under load and operate as efficiently as possible are the more important factors imho. For example, most audiophile toroids lose up to 25% voltage, whilst the SIA-025's UI-core transformer lose 1.5% max (tested). But that's really only the start of the story of what makes an amp sound good.

Seems someone belly ached about me pointing out how a certain member here flips his gear more than Snoop Dog changes his shoes, and thus has no credibility. I actually don't care about other member's opinions. I'm content I know exactly what direction I want to take with my system and how to achieve it. I'm just methodically executing each step in the process. Effusive statements about how great the latest "flavor of the month" is don't impress me at all. I get bored and go back to my music.

The amp I mentioned earlier has *plenty* of power and can drive most speakers with ease. Heck it drives my 88db, 4 ohm S5's in a medium size room...no problem. But power without magic is is just impressive for a while, then the novelty wears away when you realize something is missing from the music. As an audiophile of 24 years, I've learnt judging an amplifiers ability to control a given speaker load based on headline figures like RMS power is folly. An amp's ability to produce high current, remain stable under load and operate as efficiently as possible are the more important factors imho. For example, most audiophile toroids lose up to 25% voltage, whilst the SIA-025's UI-core transformer lose 1.5% max (tested). But that's really only the start of the story of what makes an amp sound good.

Well said Calvinj.

Soulution 530. 501 monos and 520 pre in one box instead of 3.