[mca]

I bought a pair of Ulysses speakers from Lou last month and they are by far the finest pair of speakers I have owned or probably heard. I am driving them right now with an Ayon Spirit II tube integrated. The amp sounds wonderful, but these speakers are so smooth, I thought I would try something solid state that may be able to extract even more detail out of them than the Ayon.

I want to stay with an integrated for several reasons. I don't have the room for separates, the less IC's and PC's the better and really believe that a quality integrated can match or exceed the sound of similarly priced separates. 

PS - Source is a Modwright Transporter with an EML 5U4G tube on the way, so I will still have tubes in the system 

[Pez]

I love how versatile the Daedalus speakers are. They fit very well with almost any amp because of their high efficiency. I have to say that if I were going to use an integrated I would definitely look at the Odyssey Cyclops integrated. While I don't have any experience with this integrated directly I have through the years heard the gamut of Klaus' products and say confidently that he doesn't make anything half assed regardless of price point.

BTW the Ulysses are gorgeous speakers, what wood option did you go with? Pictures!

[toobluvr]

I hear nothing but good stuff about about both Daedalus and Ayon.  They have both been on my "someday" dream list for awhile.  I bet you are getting really excellent sound.

I wouldn't touch a thing, you'll just muck it up!     

And with a 97db speaker I would certainly not swap tubes out for SS,  but that's my bias showing.   

[mca]

Pez,

The speakers are quartersawn white oak. I will get some pictures up on the Daedalus circle once I get the room cleaned up a bit.

toobluver,

The Ayon will not be going up for sale anytime soon. If I do get a ss amp, it will be just so I can satisfy my curiosity for a different "flavor".

[toobluvr]

I gotcha....I'd put my $$ on good tubes winning out.   

If those speakers are a true 97 db, with a gentle impedance curve, I'd actually be going lower powered myself.  Like a nice 845 based amp.  The glory of SET sound..... on steroids!   

PS:  I don't agree with your presumption that SS will necessarily provide more detail than a well-executed tube design.

[zybar]

I gotcha....I'd put my $$ on good tubes winning out.   

If those speakers are a true 97 db, I'd actually be going lower powered myself.  Like a nice 845 based amp.  The glory of SET sound..... on steroids!   

PS:  I don't agree with your presumption that SS will necessarily provide more detail than a well-executed tube design.

I have yet to hear a SS amp that extracts more detail than the Atma-Sphere MA-1's while maintaining a musically engaging presentation.

Unfortunately, Atma-Sphere doesn't make an integrated amp.   

George

[toobluvr]

Can't disagree with George there.  Been a lotta years since I sold my AS M60 OTL amps, but that's surely how I remember them.

[gerald porzio]

What's the budget?

[zybar]

If you really want to go down the SS path, here are a couple of possible choices:

Wyred 4 Sound STI-1000 Integrated

Marantz Pm11s1

Red Wine 30.2

BAT VK-300X SE

Another possibility which I am hearing great things about is the NAD M2 amp (http://nadelectronics.com/products/masters-series/M2-Direct-Digital-Amplifier).  This was just given a TAS product of the year award.

George

[BPT]

Also check out Pass and Plinius.
Chris H.

[Bemopti123]

Brit integrateds. 

LFD Zero MKIII all the rave now.
older Exposure integrateds.

Naim Nait XS

etc...

[toobluvr]

No offense to the fans of Brit integrateds...
But I seriously doubt they will come close to matching the sound quality he is currently getting with the Ayon.

[ncblue]

My Naim Supernait replaced a BAT tube amp setup and improved the musical performance in nearly every way. I am also fond of Modwright sources. I used to have the 9100es platinum, but now run a Modwright Oppo BDP-83. Don't underestimate the Naims!
Nat

[Will2]

If you're willing to wait a while you could consider a ModWright integrated.  I'm pretty sure Dan Wright said that was on the cards, but you could check with him.  Should be a good match seeing as Dan has the Ulysses in his room.

[JackD201]

A Plinius 9100 would be a good option.

I'd suggest the Bel Canto S300iu. If you find that you prefer the Ayon you can always move the little thing to a second system where the USB input makes it very flexible.

[Audioclyde]

Before going exclusively with tubes, I've owned quite a few very nice ss integrateds:  BAT VK-300 (6922 tube input version); Plinius 9100; Sim Audio I-5 SE; Musical Fidelity; Jeff Rowland Concentra II; and Accuphase e-408 and E-530 (Class A 30 wpc).

By far my favorites were the Accupahse E-530, followed closely by the JRDG Concentra II (caution, this one runs really warm).  Both were incredibly refined & smoooooth!  For more power, the Accuphase E-408 was great, just not quite as refined.

I'm a big BAT fan and have tons of respect for Victor, the company & their products (have owned 2 VK-300's, a BAT pre and also the BAT CD player).  The VK-300 is great and did nothing wrong; I just didn't connect, emotionally, with the music with it like I did with the Accuphase & Jeff Rowland.

Great speakers (I have the DA-RMa's)!

Best,

Randy