Naim is lively but the colorations / lack of tranparency got to me. It quickly ran out of steam if you really wanted to "crank it" with Nautilus 804's in medium room.
Creek is okay but again does not have a lot of power. Interesting review mentioned how "passive pre" integrateds lack bass dynamics and definition. I found this the case with Creek. But superbly musical with A50 and Epos M15 (which have no power-robbing x-over and easy load).
I liked the Musical Fidleity A300 150wpc integrated way better than Creek 5350 in side by side with N804's. Maybe Creek is more tranparent but it did not have the power to get the job done other than little 2-ways IMHO.
I've been greatly interested in the Portal Audio Panache for $1,795. But no remote. They offer a 30 day trial period.
Also Brinkman is high on my "interested" list but costs over $3,000.
Creek is okay but again does not have a lot of power. Interesting review mentioned how "passive pre" integrateds lack bass dynamics and definition. I found this the case with Creek. But superbly musical with A50 and Epos M15 (which have no power-robbing x-over and easy load).
I liked the Musical Fidleity A300 150wpc integrated way better than Creek 5350 in side by side with N804's. Maybe Creek is more tranparent but it did not have the power to get the job done other than little 2-ways IMHO.
I've been greatly interested in the Portal Audio Panache for $1,795. But no remote. They offer a 30 day trial period.
Also Brinkman is high on my "interested" list but costs over $3,000.