Welcome!

I have a great affinity for the Krell KAV-300i integrated.

They go for about 1100 bucks on Ebay.

Mine has driven every load I've thrown at it and sounded nice the whole time.

Honestly one of the great bargains in hi fi right now.

It should mesh well with the Dynaudios, too.

Also worth a listen is the Marantz PM7200 at only 500 dollars, new.

I forget the Dynaudio's impedance, but the Marantz runs about 95 wpc into 8 ohms, and 155 into 4 ohms. The best part is that the first 25 wattts are class A!

It's for sale at Music Direct (www.amusicdirect.com)

If there's a way to audition one locally, don't miss the chance.

I'll leave the Unison line recommendations to Jim Tavegia.

Lots of good stuff in your budget range!

Dang Buddha,

A $3,500.00 set of Dynaudios' and your gonna recommend a $500.00 Marantz? I don't doubt the Marantz sounds way better than a $500.00 unit has a right to, but I question if we do are duty to try to bring others in to the high end with such recommendations, considering what the poster already owns.

What's next....the freakin' Outlaw!

RG

Dude, you are opposed to listening to something?

Did I say he should take my advice, shut up, and buy it?

No, I said, "Audition."

What is it with so many audiophiles being opposed to listening to stuff?

As audiophiles, we should be helping people on the listening trail, not merely asking "how much ya got to spend" and then picking a piece of gear at a stated price.

I've also spent time with that Marantz and find it quite lovely, and with the economics of scale, I wonder what Rowland would charge for the same unit. Maybe rebadging it at 1500.00 would be OK with you?

(Disclaimer: Just messing with a friend here, no audiophile righteous indignation actually took place.)

I also failed to notice that he told me the impedance of the speakers right there in his post!

D'oh!

What about a Musical Fidelity A5 ? They are rated at 250W @ 8 ohm and should cost about $2500. The forthcoming Bel Canto integrated (S300i) should also be both powerful (ICEpower-based I presume) and quite affordable but it's not available yet. Or tubes ? I am driving a pair of Proac Studio 125 (88 db sensitivity) with a 30W tube amp (Audiomat Arpege, paid

Yes, the Musical Fidelity is a nice unit!

I'm not very familiar with Jolida, but I know people who rave about them, as well. I don't know how they'd do the bass on that speaker, but ya never know.

Choices, choices, choices, hmmmmmm. The Dyanaudios aren't as difficult to drive as you might expect...an amp friendly 4 ohm load. I think your choices are wide open.

Having not heard those particular speakers, my impressions of Dyanaudio in general are that they are slightly warm and not fussy about ancillary electronics.

I've enjoyed the Contour 1.8s with the Portal Panache. Lots of slam and detail.

Well, some amplifiers don't like 4 ohm loads and have to work harder, run hotter and seem to compress the sound when pushed at higher volume. But, almost all better quality amps have no problems with 4 ohm loads that don't spend a lot of time below 4 ohms in the frequency band. The Dyanaudios don't present much of a problem in this regard.

Where the Dynaudios get the reputation for somewhat difficult to drive is in their combination of a 4 ohm impedence and a relatively low to medium sensitivity. It will boil down to how big your room is and how loud you want to play music. In my 11 x 13 office, I had no problem at all driving a pair of Dynaudio 52SE monitors (similar to the ones you reference in impedence and sensitivity) with a 60 watt Rotel integrated. They went loud and maintained control without effort.

Wes' review of the Portal Panache (writing for Soundstage) is exactly the impressions that the unit conveyed to me and I have one sitting in my closet, waiting to be partnered with a pair of Dynaudios in my main room. There aren't very many speakers that would present any kind of problem to the Panache.