Integrated vs. Separates on a Budget

I prefer known highly rated and reviewed products… used VAC, Rogue, PrimaLuna. Unfortunately used Audio Research just does not come down to $3K.

Personally, I would view the "not all watts are equal" mantra with caution. 

I'd bet against a 20wpc tube integrated working as well as 100 watts solid state (or tube, for that matter) for your 91db speakers, all else equal.  In fact, I wouldn't go near 20 watts for your speakers, no matter how "unequal" they were claimed to be (complications noted by ghdprentice noted).

That said, there are tube amps with more juice in your budget.  Rogue has already been mentioned, and gets great press. I just bought a 60 wpc Jolida/Black Ice used here that sounds lovely, and something like that could be had for way under your budget (see Walter at Underwood for these).

But my sense is many of the tube amps will not have all the functionality you want.  If you are willing to consider a "just an amp" (an approach I'm attracted to), I'd throw Pass SS stuff in the mix with the toobers.

IMHO integrated amps are the way to go regardless of budget unless for some reason you need dual mono blocks for power or some other reason. 

Otherwise, the simplicity in terms of cabling and the distortion introduced by the interconnect between the preamp and amp is not worth it, not to mention the space and cost saving of having fewer boxes.

It seems most all high end amp makers offer integrated amps of exceptional quality.

Phono stage is another issue. For some reason, the amp manufacturers are not emphasizing that if offering it at all, especially for a MC option. Definitely get a separate phono stage if you can afford it and care about vinyl.

Seems to me that there are many more integrated amplifiers with built in DACs than phonostages. Since you are going to try out the Mani (which I believe would be a good mate to your TT) and are considering the purchase of the Node which has an onboard DAC, I believe you should look into a line level integrated lacking a phonostage or DAC. Thus focusing your money on amplifcation. 

I am surprised at the unanimity of the preference for integrated.

I am surprised anyone seriously thinks separates can outperform an integrated without spending far more on the separates than the integrated. Shocked, almost, but for knowing so many never did the research.

As a kid of 13-14 back in the 70’s obsessed with getting the most from my meager paper route money I read everything I could get my hands on. Right away: the most expensive parts by far are the box, faceplate, and knobs. Even a little kid can understand the faceplate contributes precisely zero to sound quality. Anyone recommending separates is therefore recommending spending twice as much on faceplates and boxes that get you nothing in return.

This was back in the 70’s. Components then all had hard wired lamp cord power plugs and freebie patch cords. Nowadays we know the value of power cords and interconnects. Anyone recommending separates is recommending spending twice as much on these. Or buying half as good quality. Or, more often, ignoring this important component hoping no one will notice the glaring gap in their advice.

This all is bad enough. Then there’s the problem of impedance matching. Integrated designers do this to perfection. Impedance mismatch problems don’t happen a lot with separates, but they do happen. They never happen with integrated.

Then there’s fuses, pods, and space, none of which favors separates.

On the other hand, just to be fair and balanced, separates do look impressive and help create the false impression of expertise among those who don’t really understand what is going on. Which is a lot of people. So I expect we will always have them.

And people who want the most sound quality for their audiophile dollar will buy integrated.