Integrated Amps - another thread...

Guys, thanks for the feedback.  Funny enough, one of my friends that has been in the industry for a long time came over.  He hadn’t heard my system since I moved it into my new room.

he’s not so quick on changing the Rega...  first of all, he said, it’s going to take a small fortune to get better sound.  He’s installed many systems at 30K + and, his opinion, I’m getting sound as good as any he installed.  He says, sometimes you just get the right combination of equipment, tweaks, and room...

BTW, he provided me with many of the mechanical isolation pieces as well as help me make my Helix Image cables.

That being said, as we always do... what more can we get by changing something?  It’s the quest, I guess...

I have some Rega dealers, in my area; however, I’m not sure I want to do business with them.  I will not trial something and not buy from them.  I’ve always thought that’s the ethical thing to do.

The Naim integrated interest me as well.  Some of the others do to.  The Quicksilver Integrated interest me as I’ve always been a fan of their products.  BTW, one of the esteemed manufacturers, in the audio space, began using my Quicksilver Monos with 8417 tubes.  They were taken and modified as a test case before the business started.

I know this one is out of left field...  has anybody heard the Marantz Ki-Ruby integrated?

Peachtree makes some nice integrateds and they include very good DACs.  

Vincent's integrateds are very good.  I had the SV-237 and it provided a lot of bang for the buck.  

I haven't owned the Parasound Hint, but have heard one and thought it sounded very good.

I replaced the Vincent with a Simaudio 600i.  I bought mine used and it was a little over your budget, but it's a great piece.  It's in a second system, but I could easily be happy with it as the hub of a main system.  It's more detailed and full bodied than any of the other integrateds I've listened to in this price range.

he’s not so quick on changing the Rega...  first of all, he said, it’s going to take a small fortune to get better sound

yes this was my first reaction as well, as i stated earlier... but the units i recommended will deliver a better overall sound than the rega i believe

I wasn't that impressed with my ADS towers.  I thought the technology was dated because I purchased them in 1980.  The dealer allowed me to trade them in for a DAC.  Maybe I got dupped.

I have a pair of Paradigm Prestige 85F towers and I didn't realize they were 2 1/2 way speakers.  After I purchased them my friend sent me an article Why 3 way are better than 2 1/2 way.  We are no longer friends.  He helped me decide on the speakers I purchased.  I wish these had better tweeters.  I like to hear crisp sound symbols and these don't deliver.  My budget was $4,000 in order to get my wife to agree to buy them and I should have waited and purchased the SALK Song3 Encore's.  I wonder what speakers would be best in the $4,000 to $6,000 range.  However, I would need to get my wife to allow to purchase them.

I had a Simaudio Ace all-in-one integrated amp that I liked very much. It had a nice phono stage in it that sounded very good to me. Yes, it has a DAC, something that you said you do not need. I have never heard the Modi 3 that you have, so I have no frame of reference to your setup. I liked the Simaudio DAC (the majority of my listening is streaming). I thought that it sounded slightly better than the built-in DAC that resides in my Innuos Zen Mini. I once did an A-B comparison with a Chord Qutest in a home trial and thought that the Qutest sounded no better than the Simaudio’s DAC. I have never heard your speakers. I have Dali 5 floor standers. There is an Ace on US Audiomart for $2100.00. I have no conflicts of interest at all. I traded up to the Simaudio 600i because I thought I needed more power, silly me, considering that I play at relatively low volumes, and I have significant hearing loss. Also, I lost the phono stage and the DAC with the 600i (!), but the 600i is a beast. I now covet something with tone controls for low volume listening (used Luxman maybe), or perhaps DSP like a Lyngdorf, but that’s my First World problem. Good luck! I hope that this is of some use to you.