[khill]

Okay, okay...no dog piling! I'm going to try SS again in my downstairs system. Large room, high ceilings (I'm in the acoustic materials business so no room treatment suggestions), Tekton DI's, BP SE DAC.

I purchased a King Maraschino 60V and it was not my cup of tea. The low level listening magic wasn't there for me?!? I'm used to Class A, SE...tube amplification. I'm into mainly euro piano jazz trios (E.S.T., Brad Mehldau, Tord Gustavsen Trio), folksy alternative (Iron & Wine, Decemberist, Father John Misty, The National), and alt country singer songwriters (Townes Van Zandt, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams)...even some electronic stuff (Radiohead, etc).

Here are the amps I'm considering...budget of 3k non negotiable, used market OKAY.

- Hegel (Not sure which model?)
- Lyngdorf TDAI-2170
- AVA SET 120 Control Amplifier or the separates???
- Schiit Aegir/Freya +
- Schiit Ragnarok 2

Inspire me guys!

 

[senna1a]

Not sure where you want to land, but I’ve seen some used Modwright KWI 200 integrated for sale under 3K that may suite your interests.

[morganc]

The Tekton crowd loves the Lyngdorf synergy.   That's where I would go. 

[mresseguie]

I heard what a Hegel amp can do once a few years ago. I don't recall which model it was, but it was powering a pair of Harbeth P3ESR monitors, and boy did it make them sound great. That's my sole plug for Hegel. 

If you need 150 glorious watts of incredibly good sounding SS amp, I encourage you to consider the Modwright KWA-150 SE that is for sale for $3250 shipped(!) in our Trading Post: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=169537.msg1796720#msg1796720

If I didn't already have so many amps - and didn't have to worry about my lower back - I would have purchased this amp a month ago. My friend Aldcol has this amp and it is fantastic. It is also very heavy.

I'm really tired tonight, so my brain hasn't thought of any other ideas, but give me a day or two for the fog to clear a bit.

Wait. You could buy my IceEdge 1200as2 amp, and I could then buy Woody's amp. Hmm. Am I serious? Would my wife kill me if I did this? Hmm.  Ask me in the morning....

Neither the IceEdge nor the Modwright are integrated. They are power amps.

Michael

[JackD]

Newest version of the Kinki Studio EX-M1 or M1+ if you need the HT bypass and Pre outs.  Both well below you stated max. 

[Rocket_Ronny]

I purchased a King Maraschino 60V and it was not my cup of tea. The low level listening magic wasn't there for me?!?

Interesting Comment. I thought that would be it’s strong point. Some here feel the thing came from heaven, and has it’s evangelists. Can you explain more about it’s sound? Was it Dry, Unmusical, etc?

I would think almost any amp in that price range would be great. Just depends what flavour you need to compliment the rest of your system.

Rocket Ronny

[khill]

Interesting Comment. I thought that would be it’s strong point. Some here feel the thing came from heaven, and evangelists. Can you explain more about it’s sound? Was it Dry, Unmusical, etc?

I would think almost any amp in that price range would be great. Just depends what flavour you need to compliment the rest of your system.

Rocket Ronny

Unmusical would probably be my description. Something was missing!?! It just wasn’t lifelike to me!?! The amp didn’t sound “bad”, just didn’t give me the “in the room with the musicians” feel that my little Dennis Had SE tube separates present.

[rollo]

The Tekton crowd loves the Lyngdorf synergy.   That's where I would go.

  Would agree a good choice. Not a dealer of Lyngdorf.


charles

[I.Greyhound Fan]

The AVA SET 120 has a beautiful midrange.  Piano sounds fabulous with it.  Frank has a 30 day money back offer.  I prefer separates for versatility.  Franks preamps are a bargain and they sound great.

I heard the Hegel  h160.  It is a nice sounding integrated with a good DAC.  I prefer the AVA as a like a fuller midrange with a hint of warmth.  But both are excellent though.  The newer Hegel models are a nice step up from the h160.

I can't comment on the Schiit gear as I have only heard the Vidar and Freya.

[Rocket_Ronny]

Unmusical would probably be my description.

That is how Frank Van Alstine describes Class D in general. I would tend to agree.

To get solid state to compete with your Dennis Had Amps will be a challenge. I can tell you the Zindak xa6950 integrated is a lively amp that I like. Individual images are flat compared to my Musical Paradise 501. Although the 501 is more true to the music, the xa is more exciting due to more high frequency splash, as in in between instruments, 501 is just black, which normally is a good thing. This also gives the xa a wider sound stage. I wish I could add those to the 501 and be finished.

Here are a couple sound samples of the 6950 in my rig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqzB6JkDBA8

https://youtu.be/ocJnvay2c7Y

Warranty is an issue with Zindack. My preamp blew up due to my son powering up my dac while the amp was on. Could not get it fixed.

Rocket Ronny.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I would also look for a used Pass Labs X150.5.  You can probably find one for around $3K or less.  The X0.5 series amps are very musical and punchy.  I own the the original X250 and it sounds excellent at low volume with the right preamp like a Pass XP10 or better.  It will run in class A 100% of the time with your speakers.