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Top 5 Integrated Amps

Owned/listened to lots over the last 30 years or so, but some of the standouts for me are :

Original Incatech Claymore with service and upgrades is a belter.

NVA AP80. Basically a pair of A80 monos in one box with a passive pot and some inputs.

Ion Obelisk 3X/XPAK, though the 3 on its own is very good.
 
Cyrus 3, ever heard someone describe Cyrus amps as sounding thin? I have a few times and I really wonder where that myth comes from, because to my ears, it has a lot of the attitudes of the Majik, I’ve had one driving Ruark Talismans for a few weeks with a Meridian 507 CD player up front… a nice sounding thing.

The myth came from the flat-earth days of the early 80s. A small group of reviewers and allied dealers basically dumped on anything that wasn't Nad, Linn or Naim. The list of 'approved' names slowly grew but there was always a lot of animosity toward Mission Group, then owners of Cyrus.
Poor old Audiolab got the same treatment at the time with some grossly biased reviews.

Little known fact about the Cyrus 3 is that when you connect a PSXR you effectively drive the power amplifier from a 500VA fully regulated supply, just like the big expensive Naim and Exposure classics.
The PSXR is in fact a full, high current power amp which just happens to output DC instead of AC music - contrast that to the typical transformer, couple of caps and a regulator found in most expensive PSU boxes.
Cyrus have never had due recognition for the quality of their power supplies.
 
Yeah, almost forgot Croft!

My List would be:

Exposure
Densen!!! (Dm10,130,150)
Primare!!! (i30)
Accuphase
Leben

On a Budget maybe a Nait 5i.
 
There are so many amps that are really good, caveat being they need to be paired with the right speakers. And then there are amps that seem to be able to sing with just about any speaker - Luxman, Accuphase, MF 1000/1001. There’s then the lesser known brands which are equally as good but don’t have the wide availability in the UK - Plinius, Perreaux etc. I’ve owned 3 Perreaux amps - the Eloquence 250i is right up there with the very best I’ve ever had in my system.
 
Luxman, L-590AXII it’s the amp I am using at present. It’s £7K the smaller version L-550 AXII might be in budget. They are Class A for the initial 30Watt or 20Watts for the 550. Excellent remote and volume control.
http://www.luxman.com/product/detail.php?id=1

The others I’d suggest you look at are Lyngdorf 2170 or 3400, Gato 400 and Yamaha 3200 - all current models. Vintage the Sony ES range you mentioned, Pioneer Elite or Marantz.
Thanks - it certainly looks nice, I should put it on the list to have a listen. There goes the budget ;-)
 
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Of the many real world level amps I’ve had over the years from Arcam, Rotel, Quad, Naim, Cyrus to name a few, I think the only one I really stopped wanting to “upgrade” or “try” another, was my Teddy Pardo i80 - enormously nice but as most would know, sadly no longer produced.
 
I've owned (in no particular order):

Exposure XV (twice)
Naim Nait 2
Accuphase E-408
Ayre AX5 Twenty
Lavardin IT
Lavardin ITx
LFD Mistral
LFD NCSE III
Sugden A21
Sonneteer Alabaster
Marantz PM94
Naim Supernait 2
Audio Note Oto SE

All have their strengths and weaknesses. The best ones have been the Exposure XV, LFD NCSE III, the Ayre AX5 Twenty and the Sonneteer Alabaster, but even these have their limitations. In the right system, the Lavardin IT is also lovely sounding, but can lack dynamics and bass with the wrong speakers. The LFD NCSE III with a pair of Graham LS3/5s in a small room in nearfield is a match made in heaven.
 
Marantz PM4, I was thinking it was "budget" and then it struck me, how much would you pay for that sort of build these days? In class A mode with the right pair of speakers the old PM4 communicates music in a way very very few amplifiers ever manage to.
 
The myth came from the flat-earth days of the early 80s. A small group of reviewers and allied dealers basically dumped on anything that wasn't Nad, Linn or Naim. The list of 'approved' names slowly grew but there was always a lot of animosity toward Mission Group, then owners of Cyrus.
Poor old Audiolab got the same treatment at the time with some grossly biased reviews.

Little known fact about the Cyrus 3 is that when you connect a PSXR you effectively drive the power amplifier from a 500VA fully regulated supply, just like the big expensive Naim and Exposure classics.
The PSXR is in fact a full, high current power amp which just happens to output DC instead of AC music - contrast that to the typical transformer, couple of caps and a regulator found in most expensive PSU boxes.
Cyrus have never had due recognition for the quality of their power supplies.
Makes sense. I’ve had other Cyrus kit before and really liked how it sounded but had little lucky with reliability of their CD transports. Their amps are solid though, and they sound great. I’m thinking of picking up a PSX-R. I have a Q-Power too which was their budget power amp a few years ago, that sounds decent too.
 
Marantz PM4, I was thinking it was "budget" and then it struck me, how much would you pay for that sort of build these days? In class A mode with the right pair of speakers the old PM4 communicates music in a way very very few amplifiers ever manage to.

It would prob be £2k ish. I fully refurbished one for a customer and it sounded good, especially in class A.
 
What about an Electrocompaniet ECI-3? Mine replaced a Naim 72/HiCAP/140.

A&R A60 is very nice,
NAD 3020 was always a good budget amp.

I did own both the NAD and A&R at one stage. I regret selling the A&R A60 most.
 


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