Help - Integrated Suggestions for Vista 2 Channel Audio Only System

[SKirby]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for some help with selecting an integrated amp for a simple 2 channel system. I have utilized this site to help me narrow my choices as this has been a tremendous source of information. Below I have listed my choices as well as all of the constraints and information on my current set up to help address any questions that I commonly see come up in these threads.

SETUP

• Vista fronts with no sub for 2 channel system
• Source - Sonos, Apple Lossless Files
• I listen to mostly rock, bluegrass, blues and some jazz at moderate levels ~90db
• Listening room is 14 ft by 16 ft, with speakers 6 ft apart, 3 ft off the walls and listening chair is 9 ft back.
• I'm currently powering the system with a Marantz SR-8001 receiver that I temporarily removed from my HT setup. I really like how it sounds but think I could get more from the Vistas with a better front end?
• My desire it to keep the setup as simple as possible but with sufficient clean power to get the most of the Vistas.
• Budget - $1500 - $2000. I would like to buy new equipment.

INTEGRATED AMP CHOICES

• Anthem Integrated 225 (I can get a new unit for ~$1125 leaving me savings for cables, room treatments, upgraded DAC for Sonos, etc..)
• Wyred 4 Sound STI-500 Integrated ($2000)
• New Peachtree Nova 125 ($1500 - unit has not been released yet but what info I gather it should be available sometime this spring. This has more power than the current Nova. I'm not sure the Peachtree units can handle the Vista but I really like the Sonos integration and design)
• Any other suggestions?

Again, thank you advance for any help. If you have any questions please let me know.

 

[babydoc]

If you are listening in a room this sized at the specified distance, you might consider two integrates at different price points. 1. The PrimaLuna Prologue with KT 88s ($2200) and 2. the Pass INT-30 ($7495). These are both 'way better' than what you are considering. The Vistas are moderately sensitive but what most people don't understand is that unless you listen at ear bleed levels, an amp that cranks out an honest 30 to 40 watts per channel will give you more than enough volume.

 

[tsv_1]

If you are listening in a room this sized at the specified distance, you might consider two integrates at different price points. 1. The PrimaLuna Prologue with KT 88s ($2200) and 2. the Pass INT-30 ($7495). These are both 'way better' than what you are considering. The Vistas are moderately sensitive but what most people don't understand is that unless you listen at ear bleed levels, an amp that cranks out an honest 30 to 40 watts per channel will give you more than enough volume.

A respectful difference of opinion. I ran the PL Dialogue monoblocks (75W/ch in ultralinear mode). The sounded fabulous, but I sold them due to compression on peaks. I'm definitely not a ruptured eardrum kind of guy. I will only very occasionally wind things up and mostly only when other people ask to do so. I do listen to a lot of classical music which has some of the widest dynamic range... and it's during certain orchestral peaks (or even chamber music) when I could easily hear the amps running out of steam. Now... this is a little apples to oranges because my experience was with CLX, not Vista... so, YMMV. Regardless, to truly track musical transients in wide DR recordings, it takes a lot of power - especially with crazy impedance curve speakers like some ML models.

Cheers

 

[SteveInNC]

I'm quite happy with the Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated I got a couple of years ago to drive my Ascent Is. It's a very high-current amp, so it handles the strange load characteristics of Logans, supports multiple stereo sources, has a HT bypass mode, and comes with a remote. I know you wanted new, but these are available on Audiogon used for around $1000-1300. I think I paid about $1700 for mine at the time. They retail(ed) for $2500.

I use mine in a hybrid system. It serves as a fronts amp in bypass mode driven by an HT receiver, or can be driven through the preamp portion directly from sources. The one quirk is that it doesn't have an "on/off" button on the remote. The theory is that you leave it on all the time, and it pulls minimal power while idle.

 

[SKirby]

Wow, the PrimaLuna's really are beautiful! Unfortunately both of these are a bit out of my price range. I'm relatively new to this and don't know much about tube amplifiers. I've always thought they were way out of my price range but form reading this forum if you've got the budget the sound is fantastic.

 

[projectormovielover]

Well skirby there are some nice little integrated tube amps that can be had for $500. I bought a yaqin and it pushes 52 watts per channel and thats alot of tube sound. I rolled some more expensive tubes in for different signature sounds and have fun. Maybe you should go this route for now until you decide what you like and use the savings for nice clables and a dac etc....

Here is the new version of my mc10 integrated and these get great reviews http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAQIN-New-M...ultDomain_0&hash=item3a732128bc#ht_2889wt_913

Here is a pic of my tube amp with all 8 tubes removed for rollin

 

[edwinr]

Just buy a pre loved Bryston B60R and be done with it...

 

[cstory]

I'll toss in one other. The Marantz PM 15S2. I like the sound of their AV-8003 Prepro I am using with my Vista's. I think the integrated would work well. If I was looking right now I would be very tempted by the Upgrade Company's version. http://www.upgradecompany.com/upgra...ypage.pbv.v1.tpl&product_id=38&category_id=18

 

[SKirby]

Just buy a pre loved Bryston B60R and be done with it...

I had not considered Bryston but I think used would be ok. Their warranty seems to be top notch and is transferable. Looking at your system you seem to be very pleased and I would assume the Vistas would be a bit easier to drive than your Theos. I noticed in another post of yours you liked the way the Anthem A2 sounded. Could I expect similar from the Anthem Integrated?

Being new to hifi I'm not really sure what to expect from upgrading my front end given my price range and the suggested choices. Should I expect dramatic improvements from my current setup (Marantz) or only incremental improvements during critical listening?

 

[edwinr]

The Bryston B-60 drives the Theos to very loud levels in my room. I have now heard a number of amplifiers with my Theos, but none of them can touch the Bryston for sound quality vs stunning value for money when buying used.

The Anthem A2 goes louder than the Bryston, but I would never normally listen that loud - so the extra power is a moot point. The A2 has similar over all sound characteristics to the Bryston, but it sounds a little more forward, or maybe brighter than the B-60. I reckon the Bryston is a more neutral amplifier than the Anthem and the build quality of the B-60 is outstanding.

The Integrated 225 has a similar sound to the A2. Which is to say, very, very good. All of the Anthem amplifiers offer outstanding value for money. If you have a big room and need that extra power, the I225 would be a good option.

Owning the Bryston has opened my eyes to the 'more power is better' approach to amplification. Even my Martin Logan dealer (who is not a Bryston dealer) has expressed surprise at how well a properly designed 60 watt amplifier can drive electrostatics.

Have you considered something from Audio Research? Perhaps the vsi55, which punches out around 50 watts per channel. A used one should go for the same money as a used B-60.

 

[SKirby]

Thanks for the detail on these choices Edwin. I think I am going to narrow my choices down to the Anthem and Bryston pieces. I haven't seen much feedback on the wyred4sound and I don't think tubes will work for me right now (small kids who love pretty shiny things...). It appears to be a choice of better sound with the Bryston but less power and not much left in the budget against the cheaper Anthem with spending money for room treatments, dad etc... Choices choices! Guess this is part of the fun of this hobby. I really appreciate the help as it is often difficult if not impossible to demo these units.

 

[edwinr]

Just another thought SKirby, with the B-60 you separate the pre and power amplifier. The pre-amp in the B-60 is very good. When funds permit, buy another power amp like a used Bryston 2B-LP power amp (same as the power amp in the B-60) and try passive bi-amping the Vistas - using the B-60 power amp for the panels, and the 2B-LP for the bass module.

 

[SKirby]

Quick update on my search for an amp for my vistas. I had decided to go with the anthem integrated but I don't think I'm going to be able to get the unit from the dealer at the price I initially thought. I've started looking at a simple separate system and have narrowed it down to the rotel 1550 preamp and either the 1582 (a b) or the 1572 (class d) for the amp. Does anyone have any experience or feedback on these? I heard the 1550 with the lower powered 1552 at a local store with Maggie 1.7 and a pair of Theos. I thought they both sounded fantastic and figured the higher powered units from rotel would only be better. Again, I'd like to keep the total cost for this part of my system in the 1500-1800 range and would like the units new. As always thanks for all the great feedback!

 

[Emilner]

Have you thought about Emotiva? The XPA 2 sounds pretty darn impressive. They seem to get very favorable reviews here. I am considering an XPA 5 with their new pre that is coming out soon.

 

[vette69]

I am using an XPA-2 to drive my Vistas and it work well and sounds great. The Vistas like a lot of juice and without a powered bottom end the more quality current you can throw their way the better they will sound.

 

[SKirby]

Well, as it turns out my dealer contact was able to get me the anthem 225 for a great price. With the savings on the anthem I had enough left in my budget to get a grotto i sub (refurb fron audio advisor)!! The anthem and grotto should be here on Monday and I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival. I'll update on how the whole package sounds once all the pieces are in place. I appreciate all of the help and suggestions from everyone on this site.

 

[edwinr]

Congratulations. The 225 is a great amplifier. Let us know how it sounds...

 

[SKirby]

Well, it's been almost two weeks with the Anthem Integrated 225 in my simple setup. All I can say is wow!! I think I now see the enormous potential my Vistas have and can better understand some of the reviews and comments of other systems in these forums. I've never reviewed audio equipment before but wanted to share some of my initial impressions with everyone.

The first thing I noticed when first listening is how much clearer and defined the upper and midrange was compared to my Marantz 8001 receiver. So much in fact that I thought the Anthem lacked the weight at the lower end that the Marantz offered. After a 30-40 hours of letting the amp break in I decided to do some a b testing. Without going into detail about my test procedures I concluded that the anthem was better in every conceivable way including the low end. The soundstage was wider with clear definition and separation of instruments and a overall improved focus. What I once thought was a warm appealing sound of the Marantz was now heard as dull and congested. Not that the Marantz was bad, just not on the same level as the Anthem. I can only imagine what true high end gear would sound like through these!

Also, with the deal I got on the Anthem I was able to buy a discounted Grotto i from Audio Advisor. Still working on breaking it in but it seems to be a wonderful match.

Again thanks to all who have weighed in on this post! I look forward to thousands of hours of audio bliss.

 

[MickeyVee]

Congrats on the setup! I have the Vista's & Grotto i and they're a wonderful combo.
I'll be looking at adding an integrated with HT bypass and this thread has been helpful. Think I've narrowed it down to the Anthem, Prima Luna or Bryston.
Enjoy!!

 

[SKirby]

Mickey,

Very interesting, those were all on my short list. The PrimaLuna was a bit out of my price range and I seriously considered a used Bryston 60r but ultimately went with the Anthem for the value. I'm sure I gave up a bit with the Anthem but the savings is what allowed me to get the Grotto. And as you know they sound great together. Can't wait to get them both broke in and the settings properly adjusted on the sub.

Btw, there is a great review on the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium on sterophile. The reviewer actually had it paired with the montis and got very good results.