I enjoyed the Almarro A318B quite a lot. High current SET with great bass drive. 6Moons done a great review on it. |
I tend to agree, the $2000 budget limits choice a bit. I use the Ayon Spark, which uses the same 623C valve as the Almarro and it's wonderful, better than the much more expensive Viva Solista, I had before.
Almarro seems to be a bit of a giant killer at it's quite reasonable price. |
Manley Stingray should be in the discussion |
Rogue Audio Cronus is a real nice one. |
good used Primaluna PL2 a wide range of tube choices easy to use auto bias good sound
inexpensive try a vista audio I84 they also have a EL34 amp
very good for the price |
Check out the Rogue Tempest 3. 90wpc and you can also tube roll to tailor the sound to your liking. |
If you can stretch it a bit the VAC Avatar SE is worth pursuing. I saw a listing for one on here recently for $2500. Not sure it is still available but having owned one I can say it is a fine sounding integrated amp.beven tempted me for a bit. |
Line Magnetic has both KT88 and EL34 based integrated amps in the under $2000 category. No formal reviews, but I've heard excellent reports about them both. |
Look at some used Cayin units, great sound, great value. I own a couple of their units and I am very pleased. |
Look into Line Magnetic, I had cayin in the past nice sound
but no musical or 3D sounding what was ashame cause i like the amp. Ayon is in a different league awesome amps.
regards |
Love my Cayin A-88T Integrated. Got it used for $1200.00. Made to mimic the sound of a McIntosh MC275. |
for high efficiency speakers try Audio Note Oto or Soro integrateds |
I'll do you one better. Skip the PrimaLuna and focus on Mystere products. Same company - high end line.
http://mystere-usa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=165
Cheers! |
The Bada 222(?) from Pacific valve is very good. It's a hybrid 95 wpc. Smooth, powerful, detailed. Really nice and a 30 day trial. It's what I would own if I had to buy an inexpensive amp. |
I can't say whether it's the best as I haven't directly compared with others you have lsited, but I'm listening to the Triode TRV-35SE as I write this and am really enjoying it. This unit has EH 6CA7s and NOS front end tubes which are a welcome improvement over the stock compliment.
As always, it will also depend on the interaction and synergy between your speakers and the amplifier you choose.
Good luck! |
Thanks for the responses...does anyone know which would be the most quiet..i.e. the lowest noise floor? Also, do tube amps suffer what sometimes is called white noise in High-powered SS amps? |
Rogue Audio Cronus..... It's a fantastic integrated amplifier. Is it the best ? Of course not. Is anything the best ? Of course not. There is no such thing as "the best." But if you want a beautiful sounding amp that can drive a wide variety of speakers to wonderful musical heights, consider the Cronus. |
Funny, I friend of mine said to audition the tempest III integrated...maybe you are onto something! |
The Rogue Audio Tempest 3 is and outstanding tube integrated with excellent tone, dynamics, texture and detail. This version Tempest has a preamp section with gain. The Ayon Spirit 3 is also an excellent integrated with its class A zero feedback design, but it cost quite a bit more than the Tempest 3. |
Unfortunately price at some point is an issue. I found dealers for Tri of Japan, Mystère and Rogue. I think I will pass On Jolida. Thanks again to all!! |
I've had a bunch of bunch of tube integrateds in the under $3000 price range in my system over the last 2 years. Ekco EV55SE, Eastern Electric M88, Cayin A-70T, Ming Da MD75, Rogue Tempest III, and Arte Forma Elsa MkII. Of those, my personal favorite is the Arte Forma. It has the blackest background noise, biggest most 3-dimensional soundstage, and best low level detail.
All those I mention are excellent amps, you'd be happy with any of them I expect. The Ming Da also is an excellent choice because it has a quad of power tubes per channel, but is much better as an amp bypassing the pre section. |
Just auditioned the Tri TRV-35se in Montreal and was very impressed. Bass was excellent and the little amp filled up quite a large room with sound and energy. Its on my short-list. Build quality was top-notch. vocals were stunning. |
