Bigger and Better: Integrated Amplifiers


For our collective entertainment, this thread is all about upgrades.  The rule is that you cannot post unless you have owned the most recently posted integrated amplifier and upgraded to a different integrated amplifier.  

For example, I started with a Yaqin MC-30L and upgraded to a Pathos Classic One MkIII.

The next person should post their upgrade from a Pathos Classic One and so on.

mceljo

Peachtree NOVA 150 to a KRELL K-300i. Almost the same feature set (KRELL has more) but sounds a little different.

silly, one person’s upgrade can be another’s downgrade

if upgrade path is so obvious and universally accepted we'd all own the same damn amp

The rule is that you cannot post unless you have owned the most recently posted integrated amplifier and upgraded to a different integrated amplifier. 

I'm not allowed to post but it would be good to know what loudspeakers you are driving....

dartzeel nhb-458 to dartzeel nhb-468,

Primaluna 300 to Pathos Heritage if it ever gets to me.

 

Parasound Halo Integrated updated to a McIntosh MA6600 integrated.  This thread is rather silly.  If no one who owns a Pathos Classic integrated has moved on, then this thread is already dead. 

$10 k preamp for under $6k look no further then theExcellent Coda CSIB integrated 

3 power choices, nothing in its price class 120 amps on tap short term ,

Huge potted 3000 vs Potted transformer ,all others open and 3 x smaller z made in USA all Friends of Nelson Pass Engineering team since 1995 

10 year warranty class A 1st watt up to 18   And doubles 8-4-2 ohm 

stereo times 2020 best of , call Mike at  Audio Archon  the best integrated amp you

probably never heard of ,

McIntosh MA6900 integrated to McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated.  The preamp is(are) tubes, the amp is solid state.

Love it….not one poster has followed the request.

 

anyone upgrade from the pathos classic one to???

Don’t forget Bada Purer 3.8mk class A 20wch Class AB 140wch with 2 12AX7 1 12AU7 it’s a great powerful integrated hybrid amp for $1600.00 use a quality truly parts 60 pouds.

I had once integrated, but upgraded to separates.

Good move.

In any case, I reject bad rules and substitute mine own.

 

@ghasley

Love it….not one poster has followed the request.

hahaha

tis what bored homebound old men do when they want to be a rebel for 30 seconds before hitting the sack at 830 pm local time 

@ghasley

BRILLIANT.... 🤣

 

(Exactly what I was thinking, just with less,,,,, PIZZAZ)

 

PrimaLuna to Hegel H4S and -HD-30. , to Wavac 805m , and now the VAC phi 300.1

The premise is fair but the chances of someone having "upgraded" from the OP's integrated is kind of slim, and the chances of each subsequent poster having upgraded from the previous one is quite small, I'd guess. Not to mention, there are only so many integrated amps and who's to say that a more expensive one is an upgrade? Additionally, is the most expensive one actually the best sounding one? (I know, silly question because most humans associate cost with quality even though that's not always the case).

The deviations from the original question says it all...

ha - some op's get exactly what they deserve... 😆

The Peachtree Nova 300 has kept its place as the crown jewel of integrated amplifiers under $5,000, the onboard DAC, the sound and the POWER is hard to beat

@chorus

Cleverest post here! lol.

I believe the op may think this is a bigger forum than exists in reality.

 

@mceljo

Your question criteria is rather narrow for this forum. Maybe for the world.

There is a validity of asking a move from any integrated to another creating a sound improvement for the listener but what the values are of that listener must also be described.

I just love it when someone says: "I listened to such and such and it killed the other such and such".

Really?

This is not a drag race.

This discussion should have had threads in the single digits. I assumed upgrade meant better sounding.

Join the big boys and put your amps where they belong, behind the loudspeakers as far away from low level circuits as you can get them. 

Imagine my entertainment when I noticed 35 posts on this thread after essentially forgetting about it.  I think one of them might have been a Pathos Classic One Mkii (close enough) to a McIntosh MA252 @deadhead58 which moves the thread to step 2.

I realized that it might not take off like a wild fire and could end up being a total dud.

My only intent by "upgrade" was simply replacing the amplifier with another that that the listener enjoyed more for whatever reason.  I also assumed that it might end up making some circles along the way due to individual personal preferences.

I'll check back once this thread hits triple digit responses! 

I did notice some subtle improvements when I traded in my Realistic SA10

for a CH Precision l1 Universal integrated. Many veils were lifted,

The issue with this and some other forums for me is folks posting with opinions about Equipment that they haven't owned or even heard.  They will parrot what's been written by reviewers or posters similarly inexperienced.  Sorry folks, but if you haven't heard it you don't have an opinion.  

@chorus 

"It does appear the Pathos less taken

has made all the difference".

We all agree this is a silly post but does it merit such a Frosty response?

@arro222 

"I just love it when someone says: "I listened to such and such and it killed the other such and such".

Really?

This is not a drag race"

. . . more like an "Ego race", for some. 

Having fallen from the sublime to the ridiculous, this thread is pure

 

 

bathos.

@coppy777 you win the award for most off topic reply.

I do, however, agree that it's essentially impossible to have an credible opinion on audio product if you have not personally heard them.

I'd also add that because mixing and matching components has mixed results that are only trumped by listener preferences it's hard to have a credible opinion on an audio product if you have not personally heard them in a very similar system.

All forums have been cancelled :-)