Integrateds - Revisited Yet Again

hello there,

thank you for your detailed posting on the Moon I-5.

I am aware that many companies use marketing hype in their product sales and
I suspect that many 'pay in' to audio magazines for good reviews- or at
least that the reviews are biased in some way for some reason or other.

I'm just not sure where to turn now, given my current setup.

What do you think of the Classe pieces, as the individual who posted before
you suggested?

I was initially going to go for a Unison Research Unico, but I cannot find
them anywhere in Canada anymore. I think that its combination of tubes and
solid state would have been excellent as a match for my system - just enough
tube to smooth it out a bit and to give me a nice midrange, yet with the SS
control.

At this point, I want to steer clear of full tube units. I don't want to
bother with the upkeep. Hybrids are still an option, but if I find a nice
sounding ss piece, I'll go for it over tubes.

Again, Classe gear ok? Any others that come to mind?

thanks,

Check out a BAT VK-300xSE or a Jeff Rowland Concentra II. I haven't heard the Moon I-5, but I have heard the integrateds from Krell, Classe and Levinson and the Rowland and BAT beat them all. I would go with the BAT myself, although the Rowland isn't far behind. It comes in 3 options, solid state, 6922 tubes, and the SE version with the 6H30 'super tubes'. Good luck.

John

If you like the idea of hybrids, Unico is one answer. Belles 250i is another. Pathos Classic One (newer version may match better with your NHT's, though older version may be a bit more tube-like) as well.

I also heartily concur on the Electrocompanier ECI-3. I would have bought that had I not found a deal on the Pathos Twin Towers.

I haven heard the newer Classe gear, but it had a reputation for being a little dark sounding, so may not be what you want.

John makes a good point above re: BAT 300. I have never heard it, but what I've heard ABOUT it says it's a real winner as well.

My personal preferences:

- ECI-3 (more so because what you get for price is great)
- Belles 250i or BAT 300
- Unico

i listened to the sim and others a few years ago and purchased the mcintosh ma-6500 integrated amp to go with my nht 2.9's. The nht's need a lot of power and they need a smoother sounding amp to tame the forwardness of the nht line. The mcintosh did not have enough power for the 2.9's (and the ma-6900 was not out yet). I even tried bi-amping the 2.9's with nht's sa-3 subwoofer amp, better, but something was missing. I then purchased a classe preamp and cd player with a pair of odyssey monoblock amps and things got much better. Classe equipment have a nice warm (tube-like) sound to them. Same with the Mcintosh. For integrated amps, i would listen to the Classe 151 and the Mcintosh ma-6500 or the ma-6900. I had all nht for quite a while (audio and home theater use, 2.9's, 1.5's, super zeros, super ones, super center 2, 2-sub two's) and have sold all of them (except the 2 sub two's) and purchased smoother sounding speakers. I think you would open up your options on front end equipment if you would change out your speakers. If you keep your nht's, IMO, you will need to stick to a warmer sounding amp and an amp with a lot of power, a hard combination for an integrated.

being that you are canadian...how about the bryston b60. beautiful clean window of sound and a 20 year warranty. just a thought