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new integrated tube amp guidance

hey all! i am looking to make a serious upgrade to my setup in the coming months, and i am seeking advice on picking the right amp for me. budget-wise i am thinking $5000-$7000, though i am not opposed to buying used if i find the perfect match.

right now i am primarily a headphone listener but since this is a significant investment for me i am not looking for just a headphone amp, i am looking for something with enough headroom to drive all the headphones and speakers i could reasonably get my hands on as an upper middle class hifi nerd. the primaluna evo 300 is my current frontrunner, and i would consider its specs to be generally appropriate for my needs. i have also been eyeing the cary 300sei which i know is particularly well-loved, as well as the audio research i/50. i am not married to any one variety of tube, el34s and 300bs are all great as far as i’m concerned. :)

at this price point i am also hoping for something with as much point-to-point wiring as possible, i consider some pcb usage perfectly acceptable as in the evo series but i would prefer to avoid an amp that is all fr4 inside! i am also not really looking for a hybrid amp, i would prefer all tube.

a fairly major sticking point for me here is the ability to run either triode or ultralinear. i have an extremely diverse music collection that ranges from jazz and classical to harsh noise, and it is both in lossless and vinyl format. i feel like this would be a significant advantage for me and based on my research it seems as though the people with this capability do appreciate having it, but i’m not really sure if it’s really as important as i feel it is. 

thank you in advance!

rsx11m
rsx11m OP
3 posts
 

https://skyfiaudio.com/products/leben-cs-300xs-tube-integrated-amplifier-new-pre-order

now that is quite a nice amp, hopefully leben have a distributor in the midwest somewhere or i'll have to find an excuse to hoof it out to new jersey to take a listen :) it's going on the list for sure, though!

What speakers are you using?  Are you looking for a neutral amp or one with a little tube warmth?

this is a totally fair question and i certainly don't mean to be evasive, i just haven't decided what my future looks like in terms of headphones or speakers, either. for headphones it's a bit up in the air, currently i am eyeballing the senn hd800s (not the originals) but i will also admit that i don't have a fantastic grasp of what's available to me. with speakers i'm a bit more certain, i would very much like to own a pair from klipsch- cornwalls, fortes, and la scalas are at the top of my list at the moment, though i need to do a lot more research there as well. 

as far as sound signature goes i do tend to prefer something a little more on the neutral side, but i am not averse to a warmer profile as long as it doesn't end up sounding too soft and fuzzy.

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,397 posts
 

Definitely look at the Woo WA5. It is the very best headphone amplifier I have ever heard (I have owned at least a dozen over the last 50 years)... and can drive speakers. It is completely dedicated to headphones... but with the ability to drive speakers. 

Many integrated amps are exactly that, with the headphone circuits thrown in as an afterthought... many that cost over $10K. So, be very careful. 

snapoli2
105 posts
 

Cayin Soul 170i - fantastic integrated!!!

jperry
2,535 posts
 

If you are going to use Klipsch or another fairly high efficiency speaker, it will be very difficult to do better than the Leben integrated amp

soix
11,230 posts
 

Figure out the speakers and headphones first as that will play a large part in deciding which amps may be appropriate.  

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