AudioAficionado.org - Integrateds I'm lusting after....

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- - Integrateds I'm lusting after.... (https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=9722)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puma Cat (Post 199557)

Actually, Julian, there's a lot more in there than meets the eye, just like Transformers (ha ha! no pun intended!). The photograph doesn't show the level of complexity of components and subassemblies that is actually present inside the chassis.

Speaking of complexity...a peek under the hood, of the modest M3 I have coming :D

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...1313728859.jpg

CD

CDLehner, welcome aboard! :wave:

CDLehner...welcome to AA :wave: and congrats on the new NAD integrated. Enjoy :thumbsup:

Thanks guys! I'll listen to the M3 for a while...put it through its paces. Then I need to match it up against my Belles 21a, and whatever power-amp I'm going to mate it to next.

CD

CDLehner... Welcome To AA!!!!

:welcome2.:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxwired (Post 198914)

Audio Research DSI-200 Class D. Gorgeous! $6k

Conrad Johnson CA-200. Novel approach to preamp section. $6.5k

NAD M2 - Claims to be first true digital amp. Replace my DAC, Pre, and Amp in one fell swoop! Great reviews on this but not in love with the appearance. -$6k

Plinius Hautonga - Latest top of the line intergrated from plinius. Typical gorgeous finish from plinius. - $5.6k

Haven't heard any of these, but they are all on my radar as a possible replacement for my existing gear.

I have listened to the DSI-200 at my local dealer but found the sound to be too sterile and not inviting IMHO

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodiezaffa (Post 226668)

I have listened to the DSI-200 at my local dealer but found the sound to be too sterile and not inviting IMHO

Is there such a thing as class-D and class-D? My one and only experiment was with a pair of PS Audio Trio A-100s. I was going to try Bel Canto, but a dealer who carried both suggested the PSA. He said "same shit, just the BC has a prettier case and higher price"...lol; and that the PSA had a better input section.

I didn't like it with my Dynaudio Focus 140s (or did I already have the Contour S1.4s by then), and I can't even imagine how it might sound with the ultra-revealing Special 25s. But of course, every once in a while I get tempted to try them again; most of all, with either BC after all, or especially a beefy pair of Wyred4Sound.

But is there any reasonable expectation, one class-D circuit will sound much different from another?

CD

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDLehner (Post 226559)

Speaking of complexity...a peek under the hood, of the modest M3 I have coming :D

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...1313728859.jpg

CD

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHC1 (Post 224981)

I think it may offer just a bit more "value" than $20k for a Krell Cipher... :D

http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/R...ech-420-90.jpg

Looking at the pictures, which do you think should be the more expensive or more valuable of the two . . .?

I think if I paid $20K for the Krell and then looked inside - I'd probably croak - looks like about $500.00 worth of innards!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jprice (Post 226690)

That picture of the interior of a "modest" NAD M3 integrated brought to mind a picture of the inside of a very expensive Krell Cipher - $20,000 - that Serge recently posted in another thread . . . .

Looking at the pictures, which do you think should be the more expensive or more valuable of the two . . .?

I think if I paid $20K for the Krell and then looked inside - I'd probably croak - looks like about $500.00 worth of innards!

Well...I'm new around these parts, so I'm trying to keep things in perspective while I get my footing. When I say the M3 is "modest", I'm trying not to act as if I'm comparing it against mega-buck units from the likes of Gamut, DarTZeel, MBL, et al. I'd throw the Krell Cipher into that group, but after seeing these pics, I'd have to agree with JPrice; looks like a bit of an empty shirt (although stuffings don't necessarily translate into sound, right?)

But obvioulsy the M3 is well-regarded in its price-range, and I'm happy to be auditioning it; happier still, after this comparison...lol

CD