Searching for an Integrated with DAC

D

Dizzie

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
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Location
Sacramento
I am searching for an integrated amplifier and the list of possibles is astonishingly short. I know I have a lot of criteria but that is what I need to get me to open my wallet and take out my plastic. Have I missed any possibilities? Thanks for any suggestions and information on performance.

Criteria:
SS or small signal tubes only
DAC included
No more than 40 pounds
MSRP < $12,000
Excellent performance

Amps I have considered (in alphabetical order):
Devialet 200
JRDG Continuum S2
MicroMega M-One 150 (not available yet)
 
Hegel H360 (a bit heavier at 45lbs), or H160. Everything else, check.

darTZeel LHC-208. By far the best you'll find at this category (integrated with DAC). MSRP is $15k, though.

Both have DACs with all sorts of inputs, *plus* a network streamer built-in.

Since you're in Cali, perhaps we can help...


cheers,
alex
 
asiufy said:
Hegel H360 (a bit heavier at 45lbs), or H160. Everything else, check.

darTZeel LHC-208. By far the best you'll find at this category (integrated with DAC). MSRP is $15k, though.

Both have DACs with all sorts of inputs, *plus* a network streamer built-in.

Since you're in Cali, perhaps we can help...


cheers,
alex
Click to expand...

+1 on the dart LHC-208. I've spent a good amount of time listening to it and it's superb sounding; as a preamp using an outboard phono stage it was excellent......the amplifier is really really good, and the dac is also outstanding.

and swiss built like a tank.
 
Mark Levinson 585. $12,000


levinson_2.jpg



http://tooloud.co/mark-levinson-no-585-integrated-amplifier/
 
Thanks guys.

Dartzeel: I could raise my price for exceptional performance. Website has no information. What are they thinking? Please tell me it comes in other colors.

Spec: Fairly obscure company. I can't find an integrated on their website.

Mark Levinson 585: Almost twice my max weight limit and over twice my preferred weight. 585 is 72 pounds for the unit and 96 pounds shipped. My goal is weight reduction and system simplification not herniation and disc rupture. Not to mention my wobbly knee.

Hegel 360: Possible but my 40 pound max was already stretching what I preferred. I will keep this on on my possibles list but not high on the list due to weight.
 
A less expensive but still heavy (60lbs) option is magnum dynalab's md309 integrated with DAC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Dizzie said:
Thanks guys.

Dartzeel: I could raise my price for exceptional performance. Website has no information. What are they thinking? Please tell me it comes in other colors.

Spec: Fairly obscure company. I can't find an integrated on their website.

Mark Levinson 585: Almost twice my max weight limit and over twice my preferred weight. 585 is 72 pounds for the unit and 96 pounds shipped. My goal is weight reduction and system simplification not herniation and disc rupture. Not to mention my wobbly knee.

Hegel 360: Possible but my 40 pound max was already stretching what I preferred. I will keep this on on my possibles list but not high on the list due to weight.
Click to expand...

These are all integrated amps: http://spec-corp.co.jp/e/audio/RSA-F33EX/index.html
http://spec-corp.co.jp/e/audio/RSA-717EX/index.html

Specs on the Dartzeel here:
http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/DA LHC 208 HFN1015_4web.pdf
 
Dizzie said:
Thanks guys.

Dartzeel: I could raise my price for exceptional performance. Website has no information. What are they thinking? Please tell me it comes in other colors.

Spec: Fairly obscure company. I can't find an integrated on their website.

Mark Levinson 585: Almost twice my max weight limit and over twice my preferred weight. 585 is 72 pounds for the unit and 96 pounds shipped. My goal is weight reduction and system simplification not herniation and disc rupture. Not to mention my wobbly knee.

Hegel 360: Possible but my 40 pound max was already stretching what I preferred. I will keep this on on my possibles list but not high on the list due to weight.
Click to expand...
They cant keep up with supply.

I know the owner well and have been to his house several times. The product is a killer. Nuff said.
 
There certainly are nothing like Blue Circle integrated amplifiers in the high-end world: http://www.bluecircle.com/page158.html. Hand made by the designer using point-to-point wiring, hand made stepped mechanical attenuator. It meets your weight requirement but has no DAC. At under $5,000, you'd have enough to buy an Auralic Vega or one of the exaSound products. Let's face it, the DAC onboard an integrated is going to be a cost burden for the manufacturer and won't stand up to stand-alone units. Has there ever been a time when a DAC can make a bigger difference. (Maybe the early days of CD?) Of course, the Devialet is a miracle of design and innovation.
 
I reviewed the first iteration of the Blue Circle DAR many moons ago. It was a great piece, and Gilbert was a great character (and I mean character!!) to work with. :D
 
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