Help/Advice Choosing SS integrated


Hello:
I'm looking to find a solid state integrated to mate with my LSA Design Signature standmounts- (ribbon tweeter, 6 1/2" driver).
I have been looking at at Creek Destiny, Naim XS, Vincent MK 236-MKll, and Primaire 130. I favor a bit more "forward" sound, with detail/flesh, but not dry. My listening is eclectic, jazz, classical piano, Beatles, etc. (no head-banger stuff!).
Any advice from you would be very helpful.
Thanks, Conrad
conradmu
I toss some of the well reviewed Musical Fidelity integrateds into the pot of makes to look at as well.
Mapman's right, MF stuff seems to be well regarded and well reviewed. From my perspective, I've heard the NAD M3 and the McIntosh MA6500 against each other on some Sonus Faber speakers, and the Mac won hands down: more forward, more alive, more involving. The NAD wasn't bad, but was laid back and uninvolving to me. Assuming your budget is around 2-3k, you can get a used Mac6500. Others that are well regarded (but can't speak to system or spkr matching) and reasonably priced (incl used) are Plinius 9100,9200, Krell 300xi and 400xi, BelCanto S300iu. Not sure I got all the names/numbers exact, but close enough.
One important thing to consider is the speakers you are driving.

Some integrateds, including some Mc models out there, do not deliver high current compared to separates as is needed for balanced sound with speakers where impedance varies significantly at various frequencies. This is not uncommon with many dynamic speaker designs.

You want an amp (integrated or otherwise) that largely doubles power output into 4 and even 2 ohms for many dynamic design speakers out there.

Several Musical Fidelity integrateds do very well at their price point in this regard, which is why I recommended them. I suspect same true of the Krells, Plinius, and Bel Cantos as well, but be sure before buying if this applies to your speakers.