Best intro to tube integrateds?

Ya , what Grinnell said !
I love mine too and have had zero problems . Besides the miriad of power tube options it can use many different input tubes which can vastly change the final outcome . Quite versatile and well made . Plug and play easy !
Be very careful with the Cayins . The one that I had was a real bear to bias ! Definitly not for beginners and a real PITA .

Good luck.

I am also looking at a tube intgrated amplifier and like the Prima Luna ProLogue Two Integrated Amplifier ($1,675). please see:

http://www.primaluna-usa.com/prologue2.htm
http://www.primaluna-usa.com/prologue1.htm
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/bPrimaLuna-Hi-fib_c_36.html

I will add my vote to those for the PrimaLuna - I went with the Dialouge 2 and am very happy with it. I greatly preferred it to the Rogue Cronus, by the way, which is much brighter in comparison. I have not heard the Jolida or the Cayin, though my uncle had a Cayin in his system briefly and was not particularly impressed.

I use a pair of Prima Luna mono power amps and can attest - good sound, versatile (tube-rolling), easy to use (auto-bias), nice build quality. Another option at similar $ is a used Pathos Classic One hybrid. This unit has a ss ouput stage which might be either a + or a - depending on your preference. A great looking and sounding piece, though.

Good Luck,

Marty

Rogue Audio Cronus.....A beautiful sounding amp, and its phono stage mates particularly well with the Rega P3-24/Exact combination (see my system.) Happy Listening !!