Next move from Parasound HINT?


I appreciate all input and experiences…I am considering moving up from my Parasound Halo Integrated.  My hope is for better sound quality, particularly with vinyl.

My current configuration is:

1) Anthem MRX 1120 AVR for Home theater (11.1)

2) Parasound HINT to power my fronts (B&W 702 S2) and my subwoofer (SVS PB-3000) and for vinyl playback (Thorens TD-160 Super, Dynavector XX2 cart)

3) Parasound JC3+ Phono Preamp

 

Needs for Integrated Amp:

1) more refined musicality for analog playback - I listen to a lot of rock, particularly hard rock, progressive and metal.  However, I listen to a range of music, as well…from classical to trip hop to new wave…I just want to to really wow me with soundstage, separation, clarity and punch.

2) Home Theater bypass capability - onboard bass management is a plus

3) Balanced In / Balanced Out

4) L/R Speaker / Sub outputs

 

Do not need:

1) onboard phono stage

2) A whole bunch of digital inputs

3) USB

 

Thank you all in advance for any helpful opinions!

tgterm

I have the Supernait 3. I demo’d the Luxman and the Hegel H390 at my home during my audition period. The Luxman has a beautiful sound, the Hegel is nice but I just didn’t connect with it. My family liked the Naim the best as it’s a bit more lively and ‘fun’ sounding. I ended up getting the SN3 and the ND5XS2 streamer. Paired those with Spendor A7’s and a Rega P6. It’s a nice setup and we enjoy having it. 

I like my Musical Fidelity A1008 better than my Parasound A21 with tube pre. Musical Fidelity goes for really low prices used. Not sure why since I hardly see a bad word about them. Change models to frequently maybe. 
 

Anyway I did like the Parasound and I think anything you get in the under 5k range will be small differences unless you go full tubes which may be an interesting option. 

+1 @russ69 

"The next move from an integrated is separate components not a better integrated."

 

With the tech of integrated, at your price point it is difficult to argue separates. More cables, more space, more everything, which means less $$ to got toward the unit itself. Not to mention the issues of preamp matching, cable integration etc. Separates opens a whole new world of crazy. There are SO many excellent integrateds out there at this price point it ALMOST doesn’t make sense to look at separates. The Hegel H390 is superb, you could also step into a couple Pass Labs offerings and many others. Where you begin to limit yourself a bit is on the sub out and HT bypass requirements. The “sub out” is simply a pre-out on some amps, but others have a named sub out.

I would also suggest your speakers may be part of the problem. The B&W’s are great speakers, but not so much with metal/hard rock IMO. Something to consider.

Why not just use the preouts on your Anthem MRX and go with a power amp like the Anthem P2, that's what I did and you can set it all up with the MRX on screen display for 2 channel with a sub and HT using the MRX for the surround speakers during movies.