Integrated Amplifier for horn speakers

S

silverfoxvtx1800

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Puyallup,Wa
I am making a big change in my system, instead of separates I am looking for the best integrated possible that has a dac built in streamer built it would be great but I can live without.. my horn speakers are 99 db efficient…no tubes amps…
Anyone out there with horn speakers?
 
I don’t have horns, but I do use speakers rated at 95db. Ah, and you are even nearby, the PNW is really such an audiophile oriented part of the country compared to Mobile, AL. There is a ton of used gear in the various audio shops in the Seattle area. Look at the used/demo sections of the Gig Harbor Audio, Hawthorne Stereo (Roosevelt), Seattle HiFi (Redmond), and Definitive Audio (Bellvue). I know the first 3 have a good website, with used listings, Just learning about Definitive.

What are your preferences, and any sort of budget?
 
We sell this. I would do this in a second. Only tubes in the preamp section.

advanceparisusa.com

Advance Paris A-i130 Nova Integrated Amplifier

Advance Paris Nova The NOVA A-I130 is based on the conviction that nothing replaces the warmth of a tube for reproducing vibrant music. The ECC81 tube preamp stage introduces a harmonic richness that transistors alone cannot provide—a depth of soundstage, a visceral presence of sound. But warmth...
advanceparisusa.com
 
I'm am obsessed with horn speakers and have tried dozens of components and speakers.

The Advance is a nice one.

There is also a unit I talked about which frankly is STUPID good and was far better than I ever expected it to be.

 
Hello Bones,
I have sorta of a story how I ended up in this stage of my HIFI journey…I went through all that fun stuff many dacs, preamps, tube, solid state gear and cables everywhere, and it was a blast with highs and lows and probably good for my brain at 73 to keep everything working lol. So about 8 months ago I ended up with a expensive dac with a built in streamer and volume control that I preferred hooking straight to my Pass Labs XA-25 amp to the horn speakers which retail for 15k..a hybrid horn with a 15 inch woofer. So I get the first one and it never played right out of the box I get an error on the screen, so they airlifted me a new one. It sounded great life was good sorta took the edge off the sorta forward midrange and tweeter of the horn..a few months go by and it happened again that error on the dacs screen dead in the water..I loved this dac, so here we go again I get another new one lol..so on number 3 now…oh my god I must be nuts ..so a couple weeks ago the third one has a software problem with the volume going crazy..my dealer is a great guy he just sent me a check for a refund of the exact amount I paid..so here I am using the Naim Uniti Atom I stole from my wife’s art studio…I need something a little better for sure and she wants it back..
So with a huge hole in my system it’s time to do something different, find a amp with a built in dac that is horn friendly at 99 db efficient or get rid of the horn speakers and start over with different speakers and a all in one amp/dac..I can live with a separate streamer just want it to be wife friendly if I come and go at the same time first lol…we listen to selected electronic music like Monolink, Bob Moses , Rufus DU SOL…just want to have something non fatiguing for all day listening…and we stream only…
Budget…keep current speakers $10k or less for a all in one amplifier, start over with amp and speakers 20k$
Thanks
 
For what you are asking for here's a couple options, not recommendations, options.

NAD M33, McIntosh 5500, Bel Canto E1X, I actually do like the Bel Canto sound.

There's also the Hifi Rose RS520. Mike may be able to speak to this piece regarding quality. Advance Paris sounds really good IMO don't let price fool you.

These don't have what you asked for my choices in an integrated under $10k would probably be Mark Levinson 5802 (since you only do digital) or the upper end analog only Yamaha. The Esoterics are great just over your $10k Add a Streamer/DAC to any of those. The 5802 does have a DAC you'd just need something like the Lumin U2 Mini

I know you are looking for one box you do have a great amp, you could add the pass XP12 and a streamer with DAC
 
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Suggestion would be to get the pass labs INT-25, and get a separate streamer (Lumin, Aurender, HiFi Rose, Eversolo…). The digital scene continues to quickly evolve.

And, certainly, you can find some really nice tubed gear with a few inputs, and volume control. Leben, Aurorasound, and others. Although, a less than perfect tubed gear can have noise with horns. My dad had DIY K-horns, and used McIntosh MC60 amps, yes there was a little hiss without playback, but the sound was perfect, and you did not hear anything but the music.
 
The Pass Amp sounds too edgy with the speakers i have the Volti Audio Lucera to much of a good thing., the dac took the glare off the upper end. Being I had problems with the dac I don’t want to mention the brand..it’s gone I got refunded so no use going there..
These speakers measure poorly so they are a challenge…I keep thinking about different speakers but driving to Seattle oh god that would be awful lol…
I will probably sell the Pass amp if I can find the right replacement, using the Naim Atom sure is nice having a remote sitting here don’t have to get up no baby sitting…
I am not ruling out selling the Lucera, it’s better with a tube amp, I did the tube thing not going back there again..
 
silverfoxvtx1800 said:
I am making a big change in my system, instead of separates I am looking for the best integrated possible that has a dac built in streamer built it would be great but I can live without.. my horn speakers are 99 db efficient…no tubes amps…
Anyone out there with horn speakers?
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Good to hear from a new horn convert. I've been with Avantagrde since 2002 and am now on my 3rd pair.

I started using tube amps of the SET persuasion, but a few years ago decided to move to solid state, but only if I could find one with an equally good excitement factor without mimicking the SET characteristics that so many people think is essential for horns,

After a disastrous purchase of one integrated amp that a fellow AG owner was raving about, I set about home auditioning a dozen ss amps of Classes A, AB and D.

I chose amps that were either highly recommended by horn owners or were ones recommended by Stereophile and other reputable reviewers. I bought (new or used) or borrowed from dealers, amps from Benchmark, Mark Levinson, Accuphase, Sugden, Lyngdorf, Bakoon, Valvet, NAD, GamuT, Micromega and Quad. These were in the price range of £3-8K so about $5-10K including tax.

I was fully expecting a Class A to win me over and the Accuphase was a lovely amp that I kept for a year before deciding it was just a little too "polite". The GamuT was a great sounding amp too, but the winner for me was the NAD Master Series M33 all-in-one. It offered sound quality that was unsurpassed by others (although a couple were equally satisfying), but it offered so much more than the others in terms of features such as a streamer, Dirac Live "room correction" DSP, subwoofer-outputs, etc. Also its BluOS control app was streets ahead of others that included a streamer.

I still have this unit in a secondary system as I've now upgraded to the NAD M66 streamer preamp feeding a pair of Atma-Sphere Class D mono amps. However, now that the M33 has been upgraded to a V2 version with improved DAC and "second generation" Purifi Eigentakt amplifier technology, I'd highly recommend this amp as a great match for horns, despite being much over-powered. Happy to elaborate my results if you care to PM me. It was surprising how much these amplifiers varied, particularly in terms of their ability to deliver music that (combined with good horn speakers) gets the goosebumps rising!

I am half-heartedly looking to further upgrade my electronics, but I'm at a loss to find a streamer preamp that will out-perform the NAD without it costing 3 or 4 times the price. And even then, most seem to lack some basic features I'm looking for, or offer unsatisfactory control apps, or require an extra box and a Roon subscription to control the streamer feature. All suggestions very welcome.
 
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silverfoxvtx1800 said:
The Pass Amp sounds too edgy with the speakers i have the Volti Audio Lucera to much of a good thing., the dac took the glare off the upper end. Being I had problems with the dac I don’t want to mention the brand..it’s gone I got refunded so no use going there..
These speakers measure poorly so they are a challenge…I keep thinking about different speakers but driving to Seattle oh god that would be awful lol…
I will probably sell the Pass amp if I can find the right replacement, using the Naim Atom sure is nice having a remote sitting here don’t have to get up no baby sitting…
I am not ruling out selling the Lucera, it’s better with a tube amp, I did the tube thing not going back there again..
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If you got glare using the Pass amp the speakers should go. With that being said I typically like Volti at the show. I think everyone would agree there should not be glare using Pass gear. Any glare would not be the fault of the Pass. Just making sure you don't dispose of the wrong piece.

Curious what speaker cables you are using? That could be an area to experiment with. As a side note my JBL are horn speakers. I had a Pass system prior. No glare, moved to Levinson which is a more lively presentation.
 
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Hello Mr. Peabody,
I have decided to sell them, luckily I didn’t buy them new $8600 from a friend who went with the Joseph Crowe 2087 a way expensive speaker…they are beautiful but should have tubes …my friend had Alan Eatons on them…I tried the First Watt Sit-4 that didn’t work …the dac I had on the XA-25 did help a lot…it wasn’t to bad and I enjoyed them very much…that dac is gone actually failed three times they kept sending me new ones …I am done..where I go from here is unknown…
I tried the Triode Wire Labs full loom, Kimber cables, and what I have always had Blue Jeans cables…those other two didn’t sound any better so I sent them back and both were very good and took them back no questions asked..
I am definitely a little bummed out over the dac failures…
 
You won't need speaker cables with your proposed new speakers, nor a power amplifier to compliment them - just an XLR from your preamp or streamer preamp.
 
silverfoxvtx1800 said:
The Pass Amp sounds too edgy with the speakers i have the Volti Audio Lucera to much of a good thing., the dac took the glare off the upper end. Being I had problems with the dac I don’t want to mention the brand..it’s gone I got refunded so no use going there..
These speakers measure poorly so they are a challenge…I keep thinking about different speakers but driving to Seattle oh god that would be awful lol…
I will probably sell the Pass amp if I can find the right replacement, using the Naim Atom sure is nice having a remote sitting here don’t have to get up no baby sitting…
I am not ruling out selling the Lucera, it’s better with a tube amp, I did the tube thing not going back there again..
Click to expand...
I have horns in both of my systems, and in my experience the dac has always been the most likely culprit for the kind of edginess you’re describing. All too many times I’ve blamed the wrong element for some deficiency in my system, only to discover too late that I had dumped something I should have kept. Those Voltis appear to be very nice speakers. I expect you’d be sad if you got rid of them.

I suspect that you’re chasing a unicorn in expecting to find an integrated worthy of those speakers with an on-board dac that would do the Voltis justice. You don’t need a lot of power, so an integrated and dac worthy of those speakers should come in well under your budget, and still leave you some cash left over for some good cabling.

Good luck.
 
silverfoxvtx1800 said:
Hello Mr. Peabody,
I have decided to sell them, luckily I didn’t buy them new $8600 from a friend who went with the Joseph Crowe 2087 a way expensive speaker…they are beautiful but should have tubes …my friend had Alan Eatons on them…I tried the First Watt Sit-4 that didn’t work …the dac I had on the XA-25 did help a lot…it wasn’t to bad and I enjoyed them very much…that dac is gone actually failed three times they kept sending me new ones …I am done..where I go from here is unknown…
I tried the Triode Wire Labs full loom, Kimber cables, and what I have always had Blue Jeans cables…those other two didn’t sound any better so I sent them back and both were very good and took them back no questions asked..
I am definitely a little bummed out over the dac failures…
Click to expand...

Good you tried different cables. Afriend tried TWL and I thought they were good. I haven't heard Kimber good reputation though. Bluejeans is a good upgrade brand. I found for more money theycan be beat, they do have a natural sound and the ones I tried seemed a bit soft on top so I thought those might have been a good choice for you.

Sounds like you are familiar with Pass products. I'd keep the XA-25 and build around that. It's easy to get a streamer with DAC that does what your Naim unit does for streaming. You might think I'm crazy stick a Teac 701 in front of your XA-25 then you will have a complete system. I forget the letters, Teac has a 701 with built-in streaming and DAC. It's crazy how good that sounds and it's not expensive comparatively. We put one head to head with a Mark Levinson 5602 and my friend sold the 5602 and used the 701. The 701 is roughly half the price of the 5602. Harbeth or Fyne Audio might be speakers to have a listen to if you keep the Pass.
 
Thank you Mr. Peabody,
I sold the speakers today, he is coming up this weekend to pick them up a 3 hr drive. So I am on the hunt , starting over is a lot of fun..lol
Teac, that doesn’t sound crazy now that I think about it…speakers boy that’s a challenge when you can’t listen first…stay with me durning the hunt…I will need all the guidance I can get from everyone…yes on the Pass Labs XA-25 I am taking it with me to the grave…
Which one would you take the Fyne or Harbeth
Is the TEAC numbers UD-701N or TEAC VRDS-701
 
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silverfoxvtx1800 said:
Thank you Mr. Peabody,
I sold the speakers today, he is coming up this weekend to pick them up a 3 hr drive. So I am on the hunt , starting over is a lot of fun..lol
Teac, that doesn’t sound crazy now that I think about it…speakers boy that’s a challenge when you can’t listen first…stay with me durning the hunt…I will need all the guidance I can get from everyone…yes on the Pass Labs XA-25 I am taking it with me to the grave…
Click to expand...

Mr Peabody is right. The TEAC NP-701 is very, very good and I would choose it over more expositive pieces I've had here.
 
So we have the Pass Labs XA-25, TEAC NP-701 …speakers ?….with everything I have sold I have a budget of 20k…but less is better..
Really don’t want horns again…I am pretty much sick of that glare and let’s face it probably best to use tubes on most of them and really had a bad tube experience…
 
silverfoxvtx1800 said:
So we have the Pass Labs XA-25, TEAC NP-701 …speakers ?….with everything I have sold I have a budget of 20k…but less is better..
Really don’t want horns again…I am pretty much sick of that glare and let’s face it probably best to use tubes on most of them and really had a bad tube experience…
Click to expand...

Don't give up on horns. I love my JBL. As mentioned above Harbeth and Fyne Audio usually match well with Pass. In fact, in one of Pass's videos he uses an old vintage set of Tannoy for listening to his amps. Spender could be an option. A friend uses those with some old Aleph Class A amps which were made by Pass the sound is very good. Mike at Suncoast has Pylon that has a reputation of sounding musical and different series.
 
Isn’t the Fyne sorta of a horn but implemented differently then traditional horn designs…I was looking at TEAC UD-701N, $4300 XA-25, Fyne Vintage Classic XII speakers cost 9k to 12k depending window shopping
I listen to electronic music
 
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