user poll on seperates vs integrated

oldrooney: thanks for the thoughtful reply, there is so much to consider.  among other things, the room i'm in now is not likely the room i'll be in forever, as it's a rental. 

i was initially in the market for something more in the range of the focal 2, since that's where my budget was at, but a dealer had the 3s on hand that he'd taken as a trade-in and sold them to me for less than the price of the 2s, i couldn't pass that deal up, even if i knew it was something i'd need to grow into, both in terms of system and space for it to occupy, over the course of some years, i considered it more of a long term investment.

whenever possible, i prefer to save a little more and stretch to something that is maybe a little farther up than i was initially, looking, and then just keep and enjoy it for a long time, vs get something more entry level and keep feeling like i want to upgrade it every year or two. 

a long way of saying that at the moment, the speakers are probably overkill for the room, but i move around often enough, they might be perfect in the next one.  i don't listen at extreme volumes, not trying to terrorize the neighbors, nor is the music i'm playing terribly bass-forward, mostly rock, pop, folk and some r&b/soul.  the rogue tube amp i have now offers plenty of power for them, at 91db sensitivity, i rarely ever get past 50% on the volume dial and that's in triode mode which i believe halves the output. 

i enjoy tubes and would be happy to stay that course, although i don't like the aesthetics of most tube gear (to me it looks like it was cobbled together from parts of an old soviet submarine)  i wish more tube amp manufactueres would embrace contemporary design aesthetics.  some exceptions i've seen recently are esoteric, and copland, but the ones that i like the look of tend to be out of my price range (i think i just really prefer a closed-chassis design, i don't need all the bits to be exposed, they just get dusty).

i do think, whether i continue down the separates path, or go integrated, i'll continue to use tubes.

For many enthusiasts like me, there is always going to be a stronger pull towards separates - they're just too cool. You got your phono & preamp in the rack under the turntable, and a monoblock next to each speaker. Just as God intended 😎

Most integrated amps truncate the preamp gain stages, which is OK for digital sources pushing out 2 - 4V+ signals. But as an analog source first guy (often no digital), I appreciate having the extra gain on tap to fill in for that lo-MC or tape deck when needed. And of course, more tubes from separates means more rolling opportunities.

I’d also say it depends on the level of integrated you are looking at. My Boulder 866 drives my Rockport Avior ii speakers extremely well. Good luck !

I have been there and done that…as in separates (Audio Research Ref 1 and Pass Labs X-250) to integrated (Gold Note IS 1000 Deluxe). Obviously, this is a cost step down for me, but, all things considered, I am extremely happy with my current system and very appreciative of the functionality and sleekness afforded by the “one box” solution.

At that price (10,000) I’d recommend integrated, but separates and monoblocks are far superior. But not possible unless you go 5 times over that budget, you’ll get incredible sound out of a top 10k integrated.