Best used integrated for under $5000

I have Rockport Aviors and my friend let me borrow his Devialet 140 expert pro with SAM profile.. it was amazing and so was the phonostage... plus not having to have streamers etc...  I need to simplify my man cave living room of huge monoblock and tube space heaters, so I will be looking to buy Devialet 220 or higher for the extra inputs.   I would definitely try to wait for the Rockports used versus Focal, and keep in mind i was an ex Wilson Watt Puppy 7, Maxx 1-3 owner with Lamm ML2.1s.  The Devialet really captures the Class A triode sound I love, but the 8000 damping factor makes even the Hegel looks weak.

Krell Vanguard Digital is a steal and is superb!  New S-300i Class A coming out et less power and higher price tag should drive Vanguard prices lower...get new!!

I bought the h360 and while at average listening levels I thought the hegels all had the sonic signature I could hear a little more refinement between the h160 to the h360 and then the h190, and if I didn't need the 250 wpc I might lean to the h190 for the newer dac and slihtly tweaked soundengine. There seemed to be just a little more resolution at both fq extremes thru the h190, but I still bought the h360.

I used to have tubed separates but everything went into storage when I moved overseas.  Came back in 2013 and sold the tubed gear and got a Hegel H200.  The sound was very good and the unit was reliable.  After a year I got over the lack of tube sound and enjoyed the music.  I would recommend against a built in DAC as that area continues to improve.  Earlier this year I bought a BAT VK3000SE demo.  The sound is a substantial improvement over the Hegel.  Bass was fuller, mids had better timbre and highs were cleaner.  I have not heard the Hegel H360 and I am sure it performs better than the H200 but I would give the BAT a listen.  My sources are lps and digital rips with Sonus Faber Cremona floorstanders, original version.

I just love on these threads where we get anyone and everyone under the sun saying "XXX is the Best!!" without really describing why or what they are actually experiencing.

The Best ? DK amp under 5 grand new or used

@mountainsong Can you elaborate why you preferred the Gamut integrated over the Luxman 509x?

mountainsong
What gear is in your system now?  Happy Listening!

I owned 509x as well but the gamut still superior.

Luxman 590AX II good 
Hegel H360 ok
Gamut D150i outstanding 
Yes I had owned them all.
Regards 

I haven't read all of the posts so I don't know if you have ended your search.  Anyway, I'd recommend the Electrocompaniet integrated ECI 5 Mk II.

Hi marrduk24

If you are looking for an all in one solution I would say the Hegel is the way to go. That said I have always preferred having separate components. Each one has its own specific Job and over the years I have learned the hard way if a component has several jobs to do simultaneously it tends to lead to more problems down the road. 

If you find yourself reevaluating towards that end then I would agree with those who have recommended the Vintage Acoustic Research and BAT Units. I would also throw in Rogue Audio and Prima Luna. All are solid Builds and in the long run I believe would offer an overall enriched experience towards achieving  your goals. 

As for speakers I have listed a couple of local NYC craftsmen who I believe you would end up providing more bang for your buck. As they are not as sexy looking as the Rockports or Focals - if its the quality of music you seek they will Exceed  Expectations.  

DeVore Fidelity - Gibbon X
http://www.devorefidelity.com/

Bache Audio 002AB
http://bacheaudio.com/portfolios/bache-audio-002ab/

By all accounts, Luxman’s new L-509X is also great. Probably not available used at your price for a bit, though. https://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-l-509x-integrated-amplifier

Have fun !

Thank you everyone.

Top two two contenders seem to be Hegel H360 and Luxman L590, followed by Accuphase and BAT. I will look into those two and may even try all 4. 

2nd the Luxman, other than I wouldn’t describe mine as "warm". L-590AX. There's certainly nothing muddled about it. Great on vocals, percussion, lot of detail, to me.

Luxman may have what you are looking for.
Accuphase is nice too but very overpriced if you are in the US.

Your sonic preferences seem to be a good match for tubes, but your desire for an integrated DAC Streamer basically rules out tubes.  There are a few SS amps that approach the sound of tubes.  If you are amenable to a separate box for a DAC Streamer, I would recommend Luxman.  They have several integrated amplifiers that sound wonderful and have excellent build quality.  Accuphase is another brand that comes to mind- and they offer plug in DAC boards for their integrated amplifiers.  McIntosh has several integrated amps with DAC boards- but understand that MAC is not for everyone, and some think the brand is overpriced.

+1 to Acuphase E-470. Even more pluses for E600 or the newer E-650, where you have to add the AD-40 or the AD-50 as the plugin DAC. All-in for Accuphase. I own two, E470 and E-650, first with AD-40 and the second with AD-50, and I will never switch to anything else again.

@audiotroy Congratulations on your new site. Looks good, despite being worked on. The Cube roll is neat. : )

I auditioned the Hegel 360 but couldn’t warm up to it...sounded a bit flat and cool. That’s coming from a guy who loves his Krell Vanguard!  Somehow the Krell straddles the fence better between detail and musicality.

If you go with the Hegel, I believe it has an ethernet input which will allow you to stream Tidal, etc., directly to the DAC via Airplay.  This can be done from a PC with Windows, or, of course, via ipad or iphone.  My H160 allows this, and the sound is pretty good.

@marrduk24 I am keeping my eye on the following shootout by one of the dealers represented here on A'Gon. His Kinki integrated ($2.4K new) is getting a lot of positive feedback. I have also been looking at the Coda Integrated (($5K new) for a while. Neither have the built in DAC but that is not a big deal when a decent DAC can be had for low cost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFDMhWSIes

I am also excited to read up on the BAT VK-3000SE that is mentioned on this thread. I was shaking my head thinking why I had not consider BAT before.  I owned a BAt VK-42SE preamp for a long time and loved it. Based on my experieince with the BAT sound, the BAT VK-3000SE ($6K new) looks like it may be a worthwhile contender for the Magico A3 speaker I am going to audition at the end of the month. It also has no DAC but the price is low for the integrated.

All 3 Integrateds I listed here are of the high current variety.

@audiotroy  Nice looking site and I like the way you have listed the products you carry. Very useful since I know you guys are always auditioning and comparing gear. The site loads a little slow.

I have the Hegel H360 and love it. 

I have the wonkiest keyboard

http://audiodoctor.com/wp/

This is the new site. Hopefully launching soon, the big reference room has not been photographed yet.

ZZ check out the store video a few years ago http://audiodoctor.com/wp/about-us/

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

@audiotroy Are you sure about your new website URL. I cannot hit it.

theothergreg,

Thanks, you made me laugh.

I love my Lyngdorf 3400. The Lyngdorf 2170 is also an excellent integrated.

Both B.A.T. and Plinius are on my radar to demo.

Love the BAT and Gato and really only need one.. but the Belles gear is awesome 

@jl35 For 5K you can buy brand new Aria separates, preamp and two monoblocks.  It looks as if the Virtuoso is seriously delayed, and you still wouldn't get 3 entirely independent power supplies.

Missed the bit about built-in DAC and streamer.  Would suggest the Atom and Nova from NAIM - have heard both and they are exceptional.  

"...strong preference for integrated amps with a built in DAC. Even better if the unit has a streamer as well. Otherwise I am planning to use Google chrome cast (is that a bad idea).

As of right now my list has Hegel h360, Lyngdorf and Moonaudio 340i.

I am planning to buy used. That means new prices probably could be as high as $10000."

Based on my recent experience buying ’pre-owned’, the spec you’re trying to match, and the units on your shortlist, Micromega M-100 or M-150. Hell, if you’re targeting new srp $10K, you could buy the M-100 new & fully equipped (+ MARS room correction) within your used budget, and I’m bettin’ it would match if not beat anything else ’pre-owned’ at its srp new. You could probly even get some motivated dealer to sell you a new M-150 at your budget limit (sans room correction).

And no, Chromecast for Audio is not a bad idea as an additional source, contrary to what some special-interest parties may claim. With the right all-in-one integrated you won’t be using the Chromecast DAC anyway. Also, there are some modest (< $40) h/w additions you can do that allegedly ’jack’ its performance. I’ve done the additions but haven’t measured before/after.

Take a look at the LFD NCSE... 

I had the Aria same time as Gato and BAT. The Aria is an incredible value (gave it to my daughter), but to all who listened to my system, not as good as the far more expensive Gato and BAT. Though maybe you would prefer it...

@theothergreg

+1

I’m looking for a very similar thing to the OP, so this thread has been useful. I’m edging towards the H360 currently.

I was also considering the BAT VK-3000SE, Belles Aria, and Yamaha A-S2100. Anyone have more info on those?

Carmenc - would you say the Belles Aria is as good as the BAT? Looking for something that will be kind to not-so-great recordings (early blues, etc).

Now back to our regularly scheduled program after that (not so) brief commercial break....

Marrduk,

Once you get to NYC you should stop by for a visit.

We have one of the largest collections of gear in the New York metro area. We have four-five integrated amplifiers in each price range our office is located 15 mins outside of NYC and we are easy to reach via Path train and Bus.

We have the:

1: Nad M32 which includes the Blue Sound OS streaming modlue.
2: The Micromega M100 which is one of the most amazing intergrated amplifiers on the market, Class A/B amplification, a state of the art high resolution dac, a headphone jack, a phono stage and room correction,
3: The Anthem STR doesn’t have streaming but does have a very clean amplifier and Anthem Room Correction.
4 Naim the Star and Nova, superb Naim sound quality, warm, punchy, streams Apt X, Chromecast, Apple Airplay, part of a whole house series of streaming products so you can add sound to your Kitchen or guest room by adding a Muso streraming speaker.

The Micromega is right up your alley with its tonal profile being warm with a stunning midrange, and very punchy bass. It is also priced very reasonably at $4,500.00 the optional room correction to really help you get superb sound in a NYC apartment.

We have matching loudspeakers if you need them from Quad, Dali, Paradigm, Kef, Legacy, ATC, Elac, to name a few.

Here is a link to our new not yet up new website:

www.audiodocotor.com/wp

Welcome to the big apple, we have been in this area for a long time let us know if you need anything even non audio related.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

The Krell Vanguard Digital is superb and glitch free!  Expansive soundstage, crystal clear and dynamic as heck!!  Just enough warmth without masking leading edge transients.  Bass is killer and low level detail is NSA.  The DAC takes my BlueSound playback to a whole other level...very organic sounding for pure digital playback.

+1 for the BAT VK-3000SE.  Also own the Belles Aria.  Like jl35, I’m keeping both!

In my upgrade stroll down the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ and stay within my budget for a new unit, the REGA OSIRIS integrated amp bested all contenders and pretenders for me.

in second place, was the very fine LFD NCSE MkII integrated amp.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/06/10/la-audio-show-2017-gene-rubin-audio-impresses-with-lfd-har...

http://www.tonepublications.com/review/lfds-latest-amplifier/

http://www.lfd-audio.com/integrated_amplifiers.html#ncse

@DEP14 - if you look at my last post on Rick’s forum you would see that I have listed three options I am still evaluating and will make a decision post finalizing all of the auditions
  - used speakers 
   - off the shelf designs by Salk or selah (two designs shortlisted from Salk and one from Selah)
   - going custom with Selah

challenge with 2 and 3 is not being able to audition. In the past 2 weeks I have auditioned so many well regarded speakers that I didn’t love (Paradigm 3F, Dynaudio Contour 60, KEF Ref 5, B&W 802 D3, PMC Twenty5.26, Focal Sopra 2) that it is very clear taste in music is highly personal. 

Gato Amp-150, BAT VK-3000SE.  I own both, have given up deciding which to keep :) 

Thought you were looking at Salk or Selah?

Audio Research VSi75 on the used market. I use it with my Proac D48R

REGA OSIRIS ....highly recommended
better still....try a dealer audition and be prepared to be wowed  



http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/rega-isis-cd-player-osiris-integrated-amplifier-tas-213/

http://audiofi.net/2012/08/rega-osiris-punching-heavy/

http://www.audiopasion.com/fotos-genius/asw-genius-210-2/

About one year ago I bought a Moon 600i, and I have Focal L&R Utopia Be loudspeakers. I have not heard the Sopras so don't know how they would compare, but the 600i with my Focals had (what I consider) a rather warm sound.
I spent most of the past year fine tuning the system for my taste. Things I did include plugging the speaker ports, speaker and I/C  cable changes, swapping different power cables around, Furutech GTX-D (R) outlets and most recently a SR Blue fuse for the 600i.
I am very happy with the sound of my system now and although the 600i doesn't have any digital capabilities, if you can live without that I think you could find it in your price range and worth consideration.
Gary