I know you said you werent into tubes, b/c you "want to crank it up", but I would second and third the BAT 300SE integrated which I have in my own system. 6h30 tube preamp with SS amp = 150 powerfull watts. I am running 4 ohm Dali Helicon 400s with them to be giddily surprised. The bass is actually full and deep with very little if any distortion or roll off.
The new ones retail for $6-7 grand, but are used on Agon for $3000-3500. I would only advise the SE version with BAT PAK power back up and the 6h30 tubes which are more linear than, say, EL34s; such that rock and roll sounds quite good, and I listening to a broad musical spectrum. I cannot, however, suggest the pre-out performance of this unit to an auxillary amp. This seems to be one of the quirks of the system.
Its a bomb-ass integrated built with technological wizardry by BAT, but the extra options are limited. I believe this to be a quite natural consequence of integrateds; b/c, well, we cant have it all. That said, I am so satisfied with the 300SE, that I have no desire to go back to separates at this time. Good luck in your search. Gary
The new ones retail for $6-7 grand, but are used on Agon for $3000-3500. I would only advise the SE version with BAT PAK power back up and the 6h30 tubes which are more linear than, say, EL34s; such that rock and roll sounds quite good, and I listening to a broad musical spectrum. I cannot, however, suggest the pre-out performance of this unit to an auxillary amp. This seems to be one of the quirks of the system.
Its a bomb-ass integrated built with technological wizardry by BAT, but the extra options are limited. I believe this to be a quite natural consequence of integrateds; b/c, well, we cant have it all. That said, I am so satisfied with the 300SE, that I have no desire to go back to separates at this time. Good luck in your search. Gary