During this Arctic blast I miss my 130 lbs Pass Class A Mono Blocks..but overall I'm thrilled to have those 2 huge boxes gone, as well as my 2 piece Pass preamp and Sim phono stage, all 350 lbs replaced by a 57 pound Integrated w/Phono...I actually never lifted the Pass, had friends take care of it and never agin until boxed up for shipping...
What do you like about your integrated amp?
So, the other day I was moving my ARC REF 75 amp to clean the insides, along with the shelf it was sitting on, when suddenly I felt a stabbing pain in one of my obliques, as I was twisting my body.
Shouting out a quick, "Oh f***," my wife said, "What are you going to do when you get older, and can't move the amp?" I have periodically wondered that myself, since I am just shy of 71.
As the discussion title says-what do you like about your integrated amp? It's a wide-open query because I'm thinking if I'm going to consolidate my equipment, let's see what's out there? I'm partial to tube equipment and have enjoyed Audio Research for almost 30 years. Does that mean I should get an ARC integrated? Maybe, maybe not.
FTR--I listen to lots of jazz, folk, classical, not that much rock beyond what I grew up listening to-Beatles, the Dead, the Stones--stuff like that. I have a pair of ProAc 30Rs, an Aurender server, and an ARC CD6SE.
All your comments are appreciated-
David
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For all of you movers. While I have not moved my amp recently. I am confronted with heavy or unweilding objects from time to time. I’m 73 as I said earlier. Please note. I am not talking down to anyone. I literally had to do this a few years ago when confronted with a heavy object. Think. I told myself, "stop, I am not going to screw up my back... and I am going to get this done. I sat down and looked at the problem. Looked at it in three dimensions. I had to get a heavy TV out of the box. I figure out how to roll the box. Then remove it... laying up against the bed. Then put a few books under it on each side, until I could easily tilt it onto the bed, then brought it down after the feet were on, then used books to slowly ratchet up the tv onto the stand, I also have furniture sliders for heavy stuff They are great they have carpet covers for wood floors... and are vinyl for carpeted floors. They come with a fulcrum to lift furniture with your foot to slide them under. It may take a little time, but it can be done. The important thing for me was to sit down, and deliberately and consciously think through the problem. There is always a solution if you want to move it yourself. |
There are some great integrated amps out there. The best sounding integrated amp under $50K, that also happens to be super light (as per the original request by "wharfy"), is the Mola Mola Kula. I am extremely fond of my Kula, for a number of reasons. It's very transparent, has proper tonality, and great sound-staging. One of the things that makes this a standout integrated is the option of a built-in DAC and a built-in phono stage. The optional built-in DAC is the amazing Tambaqui, which in and of itself makes this integrated a true high end bargain. The optional built-in phono stage is the Lupe circuit which is a killer and super quiet phono stage. I don't know of an integrated amp that can touch it in this price range. |
I have very limited space and my Luxman 509-Z integrated takes up less shelf space than separates. I like the sound and aesthetics of the Luxman and it’s way more neutral sounding than the older McIntosh that it replaced. I dislike redundancy and the 509-Z doesn’t have an internal DAC as I already have a decent standalone DAC. It’s a class A/B amplifier although I could never find any documentation as to what volume it switches from class A to B. Lastly, the 509-Z added a volume indicator display which its predecessor lacked. It’s 63 pounds and I can’t move it by myself. |
- 64 posts total