@millercarbon thanks for taking the time to offer your feedback. Informed and interesting takes. Millercarbon you’ve got me thinking about an integrated. A McIntosh integrated was my first audiophile amp. I went on to try separates cause at the time of my learning curve I thought separates were always better than integrated. However, you make some good points on investment value regarding saving money on interconnects, power cords, etc. As a guitar player, tube amps are the way to go for most good players. For audio gear, I’ve leaned toward SS cause my listening sessions usually aren’t that long and don’t want to wait for the tubes to get all fired up before the amp sound it’s best. Also, what about the cost of tubes and rolling them, etc? That’s an ongoing expense to factor. I did look at the video link you shared. The Raven owner seemed committed to quality. I had never heard of Raven before. How long have they been in business? Their website is frustrating. I can’t get any product detail on their items. Also, the owner in the video says the company is in Texas but the website says they’re based in Louisiana? Also, their amps are listed at mostly 20 watts. Seems kind of low and concerned about enough power. What does they equal to SS? Anyhow, I’m open to retooling everything right now from my amp to speakers. Any other recommendations on integrated’s are welcome as with preamps.
To amp or preamp?
Started a thread recently about speaker detail and got some good feedback on how to help me get where I want to be. Someone mentioned amp selection. The speakers are Golden Ear Triton 1’s. I have a McIntosh 152 amp and a McIntosh C48. I came across a good deal on a Rowland 112. Hooked it up and liked what I heard. The 152 is no slouch but there was just a different presentation with the 112 that woke up the GE’s a bit. This got me thinking about exploring other amps, especially newer models. But, really don’t want to spend more than $4k used. I never gave that much credence to amps having a big effect on the end result, I always put more weight in the other components of a system, but I’m thinking differently now. So, should I continue exploring amps or now focus on my preamp situation to increase the detail, resolution, Yada, Yada, that most of us are seeking?
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- 8 posts total
- 8 posts total