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

Showing 3 responses by melbguy1

Edited around your stated budget from my response to your other thread..

I could think of a few different compact sized integrateds to recommend within your budget -

- Musical Fidelity M6i, $2999
- Unison Unico Secondo hybrid integrated, $3150
- Bladelius Tyr Mk2, $3699
- Hegel H200, $4400

Of the above, the most musical sounding would be the Unison, whilst the Hegel is the pick of the bunch overall & would be the better option if you think you may need more power in future. It's also worth talking to your local Hegel dealer as they may be able to get you a killer deal on the top range H300 which has been getting great reviews. Here is a review by Goodsound magazine fyi which btw compares the MF M6 500i - http://www.goodsound.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/409-hegel-music-systems-h300-integrated-amplifier
Dah, how could I have forgotten the Modwright KWI-200?? That is a superb integrated amp, and knowing how lovely the KWA-150 sounds and how well engineered and built that amp is, I would expect the KWI-200 to sound wonderful. Price is $5k. And that that pricepoint, i'd expect it to give the Hegel H200 stiff competition indeed. Between those two options, i'd stretch and buy the Modwright. But the H300 is a different story.
Congratulations Digsmithd on buying a terrific & musical sounding integrated! I'd take that any day over any Accuphase under $10k.