Creek 5350SE vs Rega Mira 3

One thing that bothers me about the Creek. The idea of seperate PCB's for the pre-amp, amp, etc. is great. The use of "computer" grade flat ribbon cables to interconnect them is where the problem lies. 1's and 0's aren't the same as analog audio signals....

I'm a circuit board designer.... have been for over 20 years...

Weellll... The Rega Mira 3 is sounding quite nice :)

It has a sweet, delicate, polite but lively sound.
Not a trace of harshness. Even seems a bit palpable. Definitely lacking in authority compared to some other amps. It has a hint of grain, but less grain than other solid state I've had in my house. I detect some congestion.

I'm driving Silverline Sonatina II's in a room probably larger than intended for the Mira. I do use a REL Strata II subwoofer, which augments the low end. This might be an important ingredient. But I'm on a big subwoofer kick these days (I've got a REL T1 on my Monitor Audio iDeck in bedroom :-o )

I'm only two hours into it. Will update if changes. Right now I'd say that I could easily live with the Mira (if tubes were not an option) and get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Art

As an afterthought, I swapped in my Audience powerchord in place of the generic. This is what I use on my Cary, and damn, if that Mira isn't starting to sound like the Cary. The powerchord made a SCARY differnce. Ok, everything boils down to system synergy etc... and do you really want a $600 powercord on a $1200 integrated. (Yes!!)

YMMV.
Art

OK, here's another one to throw in. What about either of the Primare integrated's?

My experience is that they are towards the warmer, more musical side of ss integrateds and they would be on my personal short list (I've heard them for brief periods, never had them in my home, also studied their reviews.). The more expensive one gets you a little more detail in the sound.