2. amps-preamps
  3. 1357514738

Looking for a very good integrated solid state amp

My system consists of:
Castle Stirling IIs,made by the original Castle firm in England, 91 db,
Rega Brio R integrated, Rega Dac, Musical Fidelity V Link 192, Atlas cable, Macbook Pro.
I love the Castles but I feel the amp should be of higher quality to get the fullest out of them.
My budget is $3,000 or so.
Anyone have any experience with:
Perreaux Audiant, Musical Fidelity M6I, Ayre AX7e, Linn Majk I, Sim Audio, etc.
Thank you very much---
nystereo
zd542
5,339 posts
 
For me, it would be Ayre, no question. 2nd choice would be Sim. I would also consider a used BAT 300 and a Creek Dynasty. All of the ones I list are very good sounding but they also sound very different from each other.
audiowoman
249 posts
 
I replaced my Classe 151 integrated a few months ago with the Ayre and I am loving the change - very noticeable positive difference in overall musicality, bass, clarity of vocals.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Of those that you have listed, I would also choose the Ayre. Though if shopping for myself, I would be looking for a used Jeff Rowland Concentra II.
bgeofft-duplicate-0
174 posts
 
I owned a loaner AX7e briefly. My LFD sounded better with my Harbeth's. With different speakers the AX7e may have been purchased as it was more versatile, although the extra stuff in the signal path circuit of the Ayre can degrade sound quality. Audiophiles love to say what matters most is sound quality, but I've met few who'd give up their remote or other extras crammed in the box.
More to discover