best ? ss integrated for Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE

The Belles in made by David Belles, there is a link here in audiogon. He makes very fine pre-amps and power amps one at a time. His 21A pre-amp is a hybrid tubed pre-amp. You can read the reviews in the man. links. I had a demo in my home and they are very nice, detail to come after breakin of my new pair, but at $6000 for the set they do not reach your price point. The VTL tube integrated I have heard, actually spent about 8hours listening to it at HiFi sound in Mpls. through Dynaudio 52SE and Verity Tamino X2. It had power to spare, very lush midrange and the base was deep and tight, I think that it is a wonderful little amp. It was very musical and a joy to listen to. They sell for about $3000 new but there are used ones to be found below 1500. I do not think that the Dynaudio speakers are as power hungry as many think. They are rated at 4ohm but rarely reach that and have a pretty benign impedence curve. Current is important and I think that Dyns benefit from quality source and amplification, not just raw power. As for the Creek and power, read the Stereophile review of it, it has more than enough power for the dyns.

Thanks, DavT. I'm going to research the nearest VTL dealer as well as Creek. I keep hearing about the 'hybrid tube integrated'amps.... the new thing, I guesss. Are the designers trying for the qualities of tube with the appeal of solid state? I auditioned the Jolida Hybrid the other day. Warm and smooth but it didn't quite grab me. Well, to my my ears anyway. I think part of it was the fact that I was listening at the dealer's, in a special listening room and through less than stellar speakers. This all contributes to the sound. The only true test must be in your own home with your own equipment, right?

I'll check out the Stereophile review of the Creek also. Thanks for the detailed response. This really helps.

More responses welcome. I'm new at this.

used plinius 8200, or classe cap-151.

I am using 1.3SEs with a SimAudio I-5 with great success for the past year.

It does not appear that my I-5 is underpowering the 1.3SEs. This may be for two reasons - I'm listening in a medium-sized (not small) room and the I-5 is relatively high-current.

If you want to stay closer to the 1000 price point, consider the I-3.

Second on the Plinius. I use a Plinius 8100 with my Klipsch for 2 channel and I love the sound. It is very smooth, warm and detailed like my Eico hf-81 tube integrated. Around $800-1000 used.