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A Tale of Three Precious Jewels
The TAO of Integration - Dr. Sardonicus examines the Dussun integrated amplifiers
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. Lin Yutang
While it is arguably true that separates are sexier, high-quality integrateds make much more sense for the majority of audiophiles. Cost, space, and component matching issues all argue for taking the road less forked. And while receivers have long been the whipping boys of snooty audiophiles, one has to wonder if improvements in engineering and manufacturing techniques over the past few years and the dramatic effect of Home Theater are not, in aggregate, resulting in products of merit in this oft reviled niche. I dunno personally, but if someone out there has a receiver they think is ready for running with the big dogs, I promise it most grave and open-minded consideration. God knows, I would love to actually be able to GET NPR in the cousin-marrying, red-neck preserve, little country hell-hole I presently inhabit (wow, did I say that out loud?).
BUT, I do know there is any number of excellent integrated amplifiers out there. I also maintain that for most audiophiles they probably represent an ultimately more practical solution than separates. And I say this for one, primary reason; The Facts.
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Facts don't stain the furniture
Facts go out and slam the door
Facts are written all over your face
Facts continue to change their shape
I'm still waiting ...I'm still waiting ...I'm still waiting...
(Talking Heads - Cross Eyed and Painless)
Try this …go out and purchase a highly rated line-level pre-amplifier from one manufacturer ($2000), and a highly rated 100 watt power amplifier from another manufacturer ($2000), toss in two quality after-market power cords ($250 a pop), add appropriate suspension doo-dads ($200 for each component), and then hook them together with one meter of quality interconnect ($500). Grand total? $5400. OR, buy one 250 watt integrated ($2500), a really nifty after-market power cord ($500), suspend it ($100) and what do you get? $3100. Use the $2300 bucks to buy any of the following: really good digital source or turntable and cartridge, very respectable two-way monitors with stands, etc.
All things being equal, what do you think the chances are that most audiophiles will arrive at a felicitous arrangement of pre and power amplifiers, interconnects, etc. that will reliably out perform a well executed integrated?
And …when you move from 100 Watts to 250 Watts, what happens to your window of possible speaker matching? Frankly, for practical considerations, 250 genuine Watts lets you comfortably drive 98% of the speakers out there, without worrying. Since speaker selection is by FAR the most variable part of the process, I think more choice is always better than fewer choices, when it comes to speakers. What a burn to find one you absolutely love, and simultaneously discover your cherished 50 watter spitting up blood and coming up woefully short for your new love's 85dB efficiency and appetite for current! I have come to loathe the sound of a starving speaker.
If you can get past your ego and your prejudices (more boxes equals better sound) you stand a much better chance of assembling a really excellent two-channel system for under ten thousand dollars using an integrated amplifier, than you do with separates. When you go above the ten thousand dollar level the picture is not quite so clear, but there is still a great deal of merit in this approach, especially for those of you with smaller spaces and multipurpose listening rooms. Remember, all you have to do to mess up a high quality pre-amplifier-power amplifier combination is to miss-match, or miss-connect them. And trust me, this happens ALL THE TIME! And, it happens at every price point.
And there are great integrated pieces out there for every taste and at virtually every price point, tubed and solid state. Without effort, one can assemble a substantial list of high quality integrateds for consideration; and, the list is getting longer every day.
Now, we come to the three jewels in our little parable. The Dussun Trio. |
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发表于 2007-1-5 01:08
