Not sure how to define "musical" precisely, maybe just the feeling that "you are there". Use this as standard, what is the integrated amp you have ever heard that gives you that feeling? regardless price point.
The Blue Circle Katlas. Not just you are there, but you are there and completely captivated by the performance. Im using one with my Harbeth SHL5s in a near-field set-up and its very addictive.
I recently got to hear the Viva Solista tube integrated in a friend's system. That is a terrific, albeit expensive, integrated amp. It is a single ended triode using 845 output tubes. It is quite funky in that it uses two 211 tubes as rectifiers!
The sound is warm and relaxed without being sluggish or murky. It is also dead quiet as far as noise (my friend's system is about 105 db efficient, so quiet IS a big deal).
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