I know this sounds a little counter productive but given all the recommendations you have received, if I were in your shoes I would begin to make a list of retail stores that carry the brands on my short list. I would find a city or town within driving distance… whereby I could listen to a few or even a couple of my choices, that would be ideal. I would call ahead to these dealers and setup listening sessions with my media, my familiar music. I say that because my money has always been tight and once upon a time I thought I liked a brand and bought several components that turned out bad, very bad by shopping online and through forum research. I ended up losing more money than my pride allows me to say. I should have taken the time to really research and listen to brands, get more info from dealers and ultimately make a better choice. It’s unfortunate that much of the dealer’s experience and knowledge gets lost in the mix. I am not saying you should buy from them but in my experience of owing used and new gear, often listening first has been the most revealing factor in making my decision.
Primare/ Vincent Adio /NAD /Rogue/ AVA /Hegel...- need a simple and reliable integrated
I came up with this list based on price and functions but all I know is that they are (mostly) boutique brands, cherished by audiophiles. I have heard NAD and Vincent and none of the rest.
- Vincent SV-500
- Primare I2*
- Rogue Sphinx v2
- Audio by Van Alstine Vision SLR
- Hegel H160/ H120
- NAD C368
- Simaudio Moon I-5
I don't stream, I have a turntable and CD player. I am good with 50Watts per channel, and I would like to avoid tubes for no-fuss maintenance. I have Klipsch RP8000F speakers. I prefer sound on the warm side, I mostly listen to 60s and 70s rock and some soul/jazz/blues. I have decent hearing, I enjoy a nice soundstage but I nothing as critical and analytical as some of you/the typical audiophile.
I am a bit shallow, looks are important :) My budget would allow me to buy one of these used 5-10 years old (stretched... price is key, I would prefer a cheaper model with less functions)
If you own or have heard any of them and can tell me what the best choice/value is based on sound and reliability, that would be a great help.
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- 68 posts total
@bgross The Heed website is while very slick unusable for me. That's a hard start to get excited about a product (and my expectations for an audio web site are low). I wish I could listen to all these amps at dealers. I wouldn't take a dealers time though unless I know I would buy the product if I liked it. (Ideally they would lend it for a home trial but they don't and I don't blame them.) If they carried at least 3 brands on my list, I might try it. Unfortunately many of these are direct sales. Yet, it's a good idea, thank you! There is one dealer in a 100 miles that would actually "be there" for me, and two others - one wouldn't lift a finger for a customer like me and the other one would just pitch whatever he wanted to get rid of, these old-timers can be unique characters. |
long story short, as much as the AVA seemed the best deal, the lack of pre-amp removed it from my list. The next steps are a process of elimination Rogue, Simaudio, Primare and Hegel have met my criteria and received a lof of positive feedback. Rogue and Primare have newer items in my price range, Hegel does not and Simaudio models are 20 year old for this price vs the 2-5 years Rogue and Primare model's age. I just have to figure out how and where to listen to these before pulling the trigger.
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Take a look at the Rotel, A12 is 60WPC and A14 is 80WPC, Used you can pick up in your price range. ( from $400 to $700 ) I have an A12 that I’ve enjoyed for a few years until I upgraded to the Micromega M-100. I now have it in my 3rd system feeding vintage Advent 5012’s which I use sparingly but I still enjoy. They are quality made products at a reasonable price. |
thanks @rbull11 it's one of the easiest ones to try and I probably will (e.g. BestBuy) |
- 68 posts total