What Integrated Amps Are You Using (or what have you tried?)

[Tonepub]

Yeah, Quad is the one company that I wouldn't go with all their gear. The amps are pretty dark and slow. No where near as good as the speakers are...

Seriously, I'd get a demo before you spend your money on that path!

[AndyPandy]

I'm with Tonepub: their amps don't bring out the best from their ESL's. I actually haven't heard a Quad amp combo I really liked.

The ESL's...well having owned 3 pairs of 57's now and saving for 2905's you can see I'm a convert. No plan to change my amp however.

[KahunaCanuck]

I'm currently running a Naim Supernait in my office with PMC OB1is with USB into the Supernait (via a Halide). It's a nice system, though I really haven't tested it much...

[bodiezaffa]

Always been a fan of the integrated amp. Ive owned 2 in my short audiophile time. The 1st was the Unico Secondo.

It was a warm and wonderful amp but did lack a bit of low end punch. So I sold it and upgraded to my current Luxman 507u.

And then I sold that for the McIntosh Ma7000-dont see a reason to sell this one-its marvellous

[slowGEEZR]

I'm currently using a Jolida JD 1000RC integrated with my Wilson WP8's. Jolida is typically thought of as in the lower end in tube amplification, but I honestly love the sound I'm getting. The RC version has factory upgrades to critical parts and with the tube rolling I've done (Mullards and Gold Lion) the sound is very clear and extended and natural. It has a sound that is very similar to ASL Hurricane DT monoblocks running in triode mode. I know this because a couple of audionut buddies of mine and I get together and swap out amps and speakers and such to hear the differences with each other's setups. Very enlightening! Anyway, when switching my friend's ASL from Pentode to Triode, all three of us realized they sounded like my Jolida, when powering his Martin Logan SL3's! He currently leaves his ASL in Triode mode, due to the more realistic sound.

I also have and sometimes listen to, a Krell 400xi. It also is very clear, but has a different sound than the Jolida. A friend of mine, who has the Ayre MXR monoblocs powering his Wilson WP7's, says the Jolida blows the Krell away in my system. I don't know if blowing it away is what I would say, but I definitely prefer the Jolida, there seems to be a little more "meat on the bones" sound with the Jolida.

[badbob]

I'm in the process of putting together a small Mac system with the MA6600 & the MCD301. For speakers I'm thinking B&W 803D or Sonus Liutos. New guy here, any thoughts?
Thanks & Hi

[Jorge]

I bought my 6900 in 2003. It sounded amazing with my Thiel 2.4s. When the 6900 malfunctioned last year, I took it back to where I bought it so the dealer could ship it to the factory to be repaired. To make a long story short, after 6 months the dealer replaced the 6900 with a new 7000 at no cost to me. (Again, it's a long story that I'd be glad to tell here some other time if anyone's interested.)

I've had the 7000 for only one week. The early verdict is that it sounds even better than the 6900. By the way, I still have the Thiel 2.4s and the same sources, so the integrated amp is the only variable in my system that has changed.

I don't know much of the audio review lingo but I would say that some noticeable differences between the 6900 and 7000 are that on the 7000 bass is deeper, voices are clearer and high frequencies are more crisp. The sound just seems bigger to me. I listen to a lot of bass-heavy music (e.g., Dead Can Dance, Massive Attack); the biggest difference is definitely in the bass.

I was by no means unhappy with the 6900 but the 7000 is definitely in another class.

[Ed_Zachary]

I have an Odyssey Audio Cyclops integrated to run my PC desktop audio with. As the name implies, the Cyclops has a single input which is taking the signal from an M-Audio 1010LT sound card and sending it on to a pair of JBL studio monitors.

I like the Cyclops. It is very simple and straight forward; it comes very close to being the "straight wire with gain" plus it has its own volume control.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by badbob

I'm in the process of putting together a small Mac system with the MA6600 & the MCD301. For speakers I'm thinking B&W 803D or Sonus Liutos. New guy here, any thoughts?
Thanks & Hi

Nice set-up. The B&Ws should be an excellent match, as would the Liutos. However, I'm partial to the B&W 'house sound', which is a bit more forward to my ears than is the Sonus Faber. Still very happy with the overall performance of the MA6600.

Just noticed that this was you first post. Welcome to AK. There is also a McIntosh Audio forum where many folks have posted additional info/feedback on their MA6600. http://audioaficionado.org/mcintosh-audio/

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by badbob

I'm in the process of putting together a small Mac system with the MA6600 & the MCD301. For speakers I'm thinking B&W 803D or Sonus Liutos. New guy here, any thoughts?
Thanks & Hi

You'll love the MA6600. I'd vote for the B&Ws.