My last Integrated Amp: $5-10,000?


I would like to hear recommendations regarding integrated amplifiers costing between $5-10,000. This will be my last amplifier for quite a while. I prefer to buy used when I can but also prefer no older that 2-3 years.  My speakers are likely to change every couple of years and I may keep more than one pair.

I like a detailed and transparent sound with air and the ability to easily to pick out the location of the instruments/singers.   I have liked the class A that I’ve heard and I’ve liked the tubes that I’ve heard but I don’t want to mess with tubes.  Also, I do not want a streaming device and I’d rather not have a built in DAC but I can live with it. 

My music preferences are vocals and 70-90s rock. 
So far I have identified the following possibilities that are available.
Mark Levinson: No 585 at $8400 and ML-5805 at $6550.  The latter is a new model and I have read that there have been teething problems. I don’t know if ML have corrected this situation. 
Luxman L-590AXII $7250  has a good reputation and longevity but is relatively low powered.

McIntosh MA5300, Coda CISB, and Gryphon Diablo 120 are also possibilities if available.

chinook9

There are lots of great amps on the market. Review that are positive are good… but after that it is the character they talk about… detailed, fleshed out… The Absolute Sound, Strereophile and HiFi+ are really good a about describing the sound in generally accepted terminology that characterizes it… so you can figure out if it fits your preference. The trick is auditioning equipment they review… if you are calibrated  to the nomenclature… then you know what equipment you will like. 
 

I would buy an Audio Research VSI75 long before I would consider many others. The reviews and listening have shown me this brand shares my values in sound.

Pass, Rogue, Audio Research, McIntosh, Boulder are all very different. You need to find the company that speakers to your emotional center. Worth some auditioning.

Have a month on my Coda Csib. The most affordable new amp among your choices. With the money saved you can buy a pair of Townshend Fractal F1 speaker cables. You will be all set. 
 

In your price range, you could bump up to a McIntosh 8950 which has 200 watts and their autoformers. Great unit and you can’t beat the resale value.