Nice looking - for living room?

24phun,

Personally, I don't think you need a pre-amp if you get a quality CD player that was really designed to work well connected directly to an amp. The Resolution Audio Opus 21 really sounds great connected directly to an amp and the added transparency more than makes up for any potential (I've never heard any) loss of dynamics. Plus the benefit of space savings is a huge consideration in a place where looks are concerned. Heck, you could even get the Resolution Audio Integrated amp that matches and have a very good compact system.

I've owned Tylers and I've seen Salks on several occassions. The Salk is in a different league when it comes to looks. The Salks are stunning where-as the Tylers are merely acceptable aesthetically.

You may be shocked at how good some of the tiny chip amps or swithcing amps sound when driving an appropriate speaker. Some very expensive systems would be embarassed by one of these systems. If the goal is discrete, these could work, but if the goal is to look rich or impressive, they won't.

I've heard Cain and Cain Abbeys on a couple of occassions and they are OK, but did not impress me. They are very attractive IMHO and I wanted to own a pair, but they just didn't meet my expectations. I haven't heard the more expensive C&C speakers.

I love the aesthetic qualities of the Droplet, but haven't heard it. Would love to own the Duetto. They are built in my hometown. They also retain their value and a used one could easily be purchased, auditioned and resold at zero/little loss if you didn't love it. Of course, the Duetto would not power the Salks or Tylers.

Enjoy the hunt and let us know what you end up buying.

TIC

IMO the Manley Stingray is a stunner. It is not to everyone's taste so be sure to show it to her first. But everyone who has visited my home, even the non-audio folks, have spent time admiring and oohing and aahing over it. It is unique without being glitzy, which is hard to pull off. Add incredible sound, modest cost of ownership and a very affordable price, and what's not to like?

when used with the variable outputs ... the tube output stage is analog and will operate similarly to having a tube preamp ... cannot imagine that using a preamp, even a multi-thousand dollar one, would make an improvement.

the Duetto is a classic and will provide awesome sound for years and Cain and Cain speakers are museum quality pieces

good luck!

Jeff

I'm partial to the Pathos Classic One MKII tube hybrid integrated amp(soon to be released MKIII). One of the most beautiful integrated amps I've seen. It sounds better than any pre/amp combos I've tried over the years! Your system would be super looking with the droplet and the Pathos!
Pathos is coming out with a stunning looking cdp as well.

Sonus Faber makes some beautiful speakers!

Recently listed on an auction site was a 4 month old Sugden A21SE for $1750, a steal. Hook it up to some small Birdseye Quads and a CD player and you have a nice system, high WAF.