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Integrated Amp for Dynaudio Special 40

I have recently picked up a great pair of Special 40s - unfortunately I am currently powering them with a Marantz sr5014 AV receiver and I am looking to upgrade to a dedicated integrated amp.  I have read quite a bit about it already and have narrowed it down a bit.  My source, for now, will primarily be a Linn Axis I inherited with a new Adikt cartridge.  I may do some streaming as well but it is less important.  I am open to either used or new and leaning towards used so I can get the most bang for my buck.  The list I considering is below:

  • Ayre ex8
  • Moon 340i /i3.3
  • Plinius Hautonga
  • Roksan Blak
  • Belles Aria
Unfortunately I've not been able to listen to any since my local shop is sort of only half open during these times.  I know there's a big price swing but on the use market most of these I can find for under 3k (apart from the Ayre).  I'm very much on a budget but want something I could live with for the long haul.  Any ideas out there - many thanks in advance!!
terracebk21
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 
Make sure you have the headroom for crescendos’ and power chords.
acoustic jams, etc etc. 

don't underpower those amazing speakers.
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,984 posts
 
Hegel h390 sounds great with dyn Audio you also get a grtrat a dac

"SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - Hegel Music Systems H390 Integrated Amplifier-DAC" https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1365-hegel-music-systems-h390-integrated-...


Wr have an open bix h390 if you are interested


The h390 is very close to the hegelh590 a 11k integrated at half the price for 6k the h390 is unbeatable and the hegels very high damping factor gives the speakers far deeper and tighter bass then you can achieve with other amps



Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj
Hegel dealers
terracebk21 OP
7 posts
 
Many thanks for the replies thus far....very helpful information!

I've hear some love for the Aria and the Moon but any thoughts on the Roksan or Plinius paring?

Also, audiotroy2 - do you have a link or a posting of your open box Hegel?

Thanks again - I'm new to this community but already enjoying it very much!
smrex13
645 posts
 
I had the Aria with a vinyl system (phono preamp), and I found it to sound distant and lacking in dynamics.  At the time, I couldn't figure out why - everyone raves about the Aria, but I wasn't hearing it.  After selling it, I found a site that listed the input sensitivity as 1.2V, which is extremely low for an integrated amp.  Assuming that this spec is correct, it explained why the Aria didn't sound good in my system, as my phono preamp couldn't really drive it well.  Just something to consider.
jafant's avatar
jafant
21,611 posts
 
Octave is a sonic match if one wants a tubed Integrated.

Happy Listening!
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