today i got my new Focal Electra 1038BE ,help

Pelo911:
You said you have $5k-8k for electronics, and that this does not include money for home theater. What did you mean by "electronics"? Does that mean $5k-8k for amp and DAC? Or, does that $5k-8k also include other things like loudspeaker cables and interconnects?

Hi, Metman.
In my experience, cleaning up the power supply can make just as much of a difference as switching from a $4k amp to a $12k amp. So, although $1149 for a power cable might seem like a lot, in this case, I'm suggesting that depending on the budget, a power cord investment of the nature I recommended is very likely to put one far ahead of the standard model of choosing, namely (and most generally): picking the best components one can manage with the budget and then addressing the power cables later on.

In this case, Pelo 911 says he has $5k-8k for electronics (not including home theater). Depending on what he means by "electronics" I might only suggest one Signature for whatever source he chooses. (That's where, in my experience, the power cables appear to make the most difference).

Hi Pelo,
Parasound Halo A21 (250wpc into 8ohm) has plenty of power for 1038 Be. Unless you listen to music at ear-bleeding level, the amp will stay in class A most of the time. Besides, it doesn't necessarily mean going out of class A and into class A/B is bad. Far from it.

XA60.5 is mono block, which means you will need 2 of them to drive each of your 1038 Be. IMHO XA30.5 (stereo, not mono) is plenty good enough for 1038 Be. Don't be fooled by it's 30 watts class A rating. Stereophile measurement shows it can go up to 130wpc into 8ohm in class A/B before clipping (THD > 0.1%). Besides, watts power rating is only half the story of an amp's ability. Many people has experience XA30.5 driving difficult loads due to its current output. Your 1038 Be is definitely NOT considered difficult load at all.

Again, like I said, X250.5 should be a great choice as well if your budget allows it. You only said $8k budget for ALL of your electronics. In that case, I would not go with X250.5, only because it'd only leave you with $2k for the rest of your needs (preamp + dac + transport + cables + reclocker).

I'm not familiar with Modwright or NAD. But Modwright seems to be a good company with quality products. You probably cannot go wrong with it. Only thing is just to make sure you get HT by-pass (to integrate either AVR or processor for your HT) with the integrated amp you purchase.

From your list, either of MBL, Modwright or Luxman could work. MBl7006 is their entry-level integrated. But I do not know if they have HT by-pass. I personally would not go for Simaudio, I heard their amp/cdp before and not my cup of tea.

I strongly suggest you talk to a Parasound dealer if you want to stay within $8k budget for your whole system. Do not underestimate amp/pre-amp matching. If you aren't experienced, it is better to get same brand for amp and preamp.

Hi Pelo,

I would go with Class A Pass Labs or Class A Accuphase.

Good luck!

Take care,

-Dave

Kzhtoo and Aaronknock

budget can be strach in order to get compete and satisfide system.

XA60.5 , i know it's Mono , i got good deal for pair of them
i thought about XA60.5 only because i'm afraid the XA30.5 will to weak (30w only)

a lot of 1038 BE owner love the Simaudio integrated 600i and 700i , this is the model you heared and didn't liked?

i have stupid quastion:
if i'm buying DAC that come also with PRE , why i need to buy also seperate PRE ?

DAC:
what model do you recommend to buy?
i like the NAD DAC (only the design)

speakers and interconct:
what brand to buy?