@mdalton @larryi @audiotroy I viewed the Synthesis lineup on the distributor's website. Very cool-looking gear but most of these are integrated amps. Ovation is the amp that would interest me. However, Audio Intellect site is not displaying searchable products. At least not to me, at this time.
Tube amps under $7500
Ready to experiment with combinations never before (or not recently) tried. Step one requires a tube amp. Now looking at Prima Luna EVO 400 which sells for 5K. Any other tube amps I should consider in this price/feature range? Must come in silver with balanced input. For pairing experimentally with various tube and SS preamps. Efficient 4 ohm Legacy speakers (and the room/setup) are the constants.
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As I stated above, I am suggesting that you hear these amps even though they don't match your criteria and tell us if that is the kind of sound you are after. If you think they are too warm, for example, you might be a candidate for the Audio Research amps being suggested above. Also, if you do find it to be as good as I think it is, you might change your plans. It is an integrated amp, with a first rate DAC that might prompt someone to drop a whole lot of other gear in favor of this amp. I know of a buyer trading in a Jadis amp, Jadis linestage and a DAC (don't recall what DAC) for the A100 model that costs a small fraction of the gear being traded in. I had to agree that the A100 sounded better than the Jadis, and Jadis is really nice sounding gear (also spectacularly well built). |
Yes, I would certainly like to hear the Synthesis. If it resembles Cary, then I would probably like it. Same, I expect, with Aric. Only question is whether a tube amp (other than Stone Fortress ARC, VAC, etc.) can handle the low frequency impedance dips in my Legacy speakers. |
by distributor, if you mean deja vu, pretty sure their website is not up to date. my understanding is that the Prime series - which includes the Ovation and my Ensemble integrated - has been discontinued. But @audiotroy will know better of course. in the meantime, i’d recommend you look at the synthesis site (synthesis.co.it). |
With a lot of tube gear, the difference between an integrated amp and a power amp is surprisingly minimal--if you take the power amp and add input jacks, a source selector and a volume pot, you have an integrated amp.(you probably don't need additional gain of a preamp or the buffering of the preamp). One is often better off going with a manufacturer's integrated model because it is cheaper, will sound at least as good and will not require a pair of interconnects. |
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