Argyro, I agree:-)
But at least I bought one of the ones I asked about two years ago and heard all of them plus some more. And Im not about to change yet. |
Thanks for all the answers, maybe the phrase "best" is not a good absolute measure. Im looking for experiences with the mentioned integrated amps. There will always be synergy effects between different setups and you can alter things with cables and other things to cater the sound to your preferences. I still think you can list pros and cons for the amps. So far what Ive read in magazines, almost everything is positive though, is that the Gryphon benefits alot from an SRA platform (HIFI+). The Gryphon is excellent but cant touch the Ayre MX-Rs and is slightly behind the FBI. But the FBI is twice the price. (Ljud och Bild, Swedish mag.) The Gamut seems to be liked alot by Absolute sound and JValin who said the Gamut with Arc CD7 and Magico Mini2 is a great setup. For Vitus Jeff Fritz of UltraAudio let his Boulder 1060 go for the Vitus. Rowland has no test afaik yet, but DCstep here on Agon seems to be very impressed with his unit and GuidoCorona seems to like the Capri pre thats suppose to be similar to the Pre in the Rowland. For the Apl 6moons test was so and so but hes into SETs all night long. Some people have let go of their DartZeels for the UA-S1.
I have used Wilson WP7s but looking to change these to smaller floorstanders plus sub.
So what do you thinks is the "best" integrated amp? |
I prefer when a integrated is a onebox solution otherwise it looses its appeal a bit, a least to me. Therefore the ASR with 3 extra boxes is out of the question.
Heres another: Consensus Audio Amp 211.
The Vac Phi Beta is definately interesting, still wonder about the others and how they compare. |
The Blue Note seems to be the most expensive one so far at 19990. |
Gudiocorona, Ill try to describe my preference . I like a neutral but not a thin sound, I like bass that is deep but fast. I would say its a mix of SS speed with the fullness of tubes. I have no special prefs. for either technology. I used to own a Spectron MIIISE and a VTL TL7.5 with Wilson WP7. Although I got to much noise from this pre/amp combo. I think there might be some trouble with AC noise but not sure. |
Ecruz, that links not working for me?
Jallen, can you tell me what source/speakers your using? |
Johnk What SET replaced the FBI and what speakers are driven by the SET? |
Fafafion: Neodio 150 looks interesting but no one seems to cary it but France?
Ecruz: The TRL ST225 also seems to be impossible to find?
Coffeey: 6moons seems to like Coda
Teddy_bear: I never read UHF but I saw Ultraaudio still had Vitus as ref. I think the Kondo seems nice as well but bit expensive compared to the others.
Guido: I tried different amps with VTL, no change. Used Transporter direct to Spectron, that lowered the noised a lot. Still Id want just two boxes, one amp and one source=>1 IC, 2PCs and SC i.e. minimum cables.
So can someone comment on the Gryphon Gamut Vitus and Rowland? |
So I guess no one has listened to any of the above mentioned integrateds then? |
The title seems to be offensive, that was not the purpose, so apologies....
Im just trying to find out experiences with the mentioned integrateds. The starting oint is to find a good integrated and build around it. One can assume that a good integrated should be able to mate "fairly well" with a fine turntable and reasonably priced speakers. The Rowland Continuum 500 seems to be a nice unit, although Im not convinced, yet, that it beats the others on the list? |
After having lived with the APL UA-S1 which was then upgraded to the UA-S4 I can say that IMHO its the finest amp Ive heard so far. |
Tvad, you make a good point of speaker match, however Im not impossible to convince. I have found that most stand mounts are not easy to drive. Im choosing among a couple of stand mount loudspeakers, the list includes SF Guarneri Memento, MBL 121,Magico MiniII(although a bit pricey), SP Tech Timepiece mini, maybe there are others that Im not familiar with. Kiwi writes, "Continuum amp whilst delivering amazing vocal articulation did not capture the 'body' of the vocal. There was if you like a fantastic high resolution outline to vocals but no real density to them."
I had a similar experience with my Spectron MIIISE.
For the Continuum I think with all its power the hard to drive MBLs is one of the speakers you think it would be good for. |
Dave,
clarification I heard the Spectron with Wilson Watt/Puppy 7s. Ive only heard the big MBL101e's with 9008. I dont find them as hard to place as every body mentions though. The Music seems like a really nice speaker, too big though. Im trying to find a pair of speakers with big sound and small footprint. Magico with Rowland, thats interesting. |
Argyro,
love that setup very aestehtic and purist. What amps did you compare the Diablo to? |
Rowland + Magico sounds nice. Jonathan Valin recommended to run the Magicos with the Gamut Di150, so I guess that will be another nice match, but I still wonder if it can touch the Vitus SS101?
Dave is Rowland using a custom Magico sub? |
Egidius, thanks for the tip, I didnt know that one, Berning seems to make nice amps, however this one doesnt seem to be easy to find. |
Mike60,
thats the kind of response I was looking for when this thread was initiated, I too was under the impression the Gamut was a very nice amp, also Jvalin recommended it together with Magico Minis, and maybe slightly better than the Gryphon. Its a bit cheaper as well. |
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Lavezzi71, Im guessing you never heard the APL amp. Baryshnikov vs. Elephant. |
