What's the best integrated amp in the $1500-$2000 range?
I've owned many integrated amps over the years, both tube and solid state, from the following companies: Plinius, Bryston, Arcam, Anthem, Rega, Peachtree, Cayin, Antique Sound Labs and I'm sure there are others I've forgotten. Out of all the integrated amps I've owned, my favorite is my current integrated - the Rega Elicit-R. It has plenty of power to drive most speakers (is driving my 4 ohm speakers with ease), is a musical, full sounding amp with great bottom end, and it has a really decent MM phono pre-amp built in. There is one on AudiogoN right now, listed at $1500. If you can get away with a little less power, there is the very similar Rega Elex-R listed here for only $980. That is a great bargain IMHO. Unless you plan to buy a relatively expensive separate phono pre-amp, having a decent one built-in is a good way to go. Saves you money on interconnect cables, power cord and the price of the phono pre-amp. Good Luck. I hope you find one that makes you happy. |
I had nearly exact question several months ago: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/seriously-considering-tube-preamp-opinions?page=2&sort_order=desc Perhaps some answers in that thread will help. I was very tempted by the Vincent 237mkII but no phono, which you said you wanted. Many, many people also suggested Parasound. The Rogue is a great call, I suspect. For the money, and depending on power needs, the QS Integrated is an unbelievable value -- it's $2k, new, so perhaps a non-starter, but if you like vinyl and would go tube... http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/integrated-amplifier/ I heard this integrated drive some Dynaudio Evoke 10 speakers (84 db) and it did very well -- lovely, organic, dimensioned soundstage and tonal balance. |
