Picking a Tube integrated amp


Hey all. Trying to figure out my amp situation and am looking at a few integrated to upgrade to. 

I currently have a McIntosh integrated and want to move to tubes. I have the vivid v1.5speakers and a Clearaudio Concept. Looking at the following:

—Primaluna Dialogue premium or HP.
—Audio Research VSi60
—Octave v40SE

Question...does the AR still hold up? It’s likely it will be a used model, but curious if it’s still competing with the others I listed. Any others to consider?  

Thanks!


 
128x128rubytuesday
You asked about the Cayin A-50T. I've had one for a few months and am very impressed, great build quality and great sound. I think it's better than any of the three tube amps I'd had before, a Cary/AES AE-25 Super Amp with an AE-3 preamp, a Cronus Magnum and a Cary Sli-80 F1. It's especially impressive considering its price but I still think it sounds better with my gear than any of those amps, even the Sli-80, which cost multiples of the A-50T
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You're limited to El-34 or KT77 power tubes but even the stock Cayin El-34s sound good and the RFT/Siemens tubes I have are even better. I'll probably get some Gold Lion KT77s to try because I was very impressed with them in the Sli-80 and should have kept them when I sold the amp.
Since they have not been mentioned (in alphabetic order):

- Audio Space
- Ayon
- Line Magnetic
- Lyric Audio
- Melody

I recently ordered a Lyric Audio integrated...I’ll post early impressions once it is in system.
 I have added the VTL to the list of contenders.  David, I’ll look into those as well. 
@rubytuesday  We live in a time, where there are an abundance of great choices. Whichever 'brand' you choose will perform well, the restrictions being the synergy within your system and your unique preferences.

I've never heard a Lyric component before, but I took the leap. Even had I heard it before, it would have been under circumstances likely much different than my own...just saying that ultimately, most of our choices involve a leap of faith. The good news is that so many designers and builders are putting terrific products on the market.

It will be interesting to learn what you end up choosing and how you react and respond to it's performance, once in your system. Enjoy the journey of discovery.
@david_ten thanks for the advice, I’ll update when I do make a decision.  It’s funny how what sounds good to you may be awful to me. I listened to a $4500 pair of Dynaudio speakers and had to turn them off after a few minutes. Tried three different models with different sources/amps. Dynaudio just doesn’t sound good to my ears. That’s the risk in buying sight unseen (or unheard).