Rackon
Posted
7 years 5 months ago
We own the PM 8005's predecessor, the PM 8004. It's a great integrated for the money. We tried it with the 3s at a recent audition and found the pairing to be an excellent match. (The person I bought the 8004 from paired it with GE Tritons 2s.) The Marantz also has the bonus of an excellent phono stage if that's important to you. In a former audio life I owned Herron mono amps and tubed preamp costing many thousands more. I loved my Herron gear but am surprised at how good the Marantz sounds for 1/6 the investment. If you like Marantz and you're on a budget, the 8005 is a must audition.
I also owned a couple of Rogue pre/amp combos back in the day and found them excellent value as well, plus you can tube roll (which no longer appeals to me but it might to you). The Sphinx will be a somwhat different flavor from the PM 8005, best to audition with your 3s if you can. I heard a couple Yamaha integrateds last month with the Tritons but preferred the Marantz 8005 and the Rega Brio-R. YMMV. (As listeners to large scale classical we are picky picky about treble on massed strings. And transparency.)
We seem to be in a golden age of affordable integrated amps - there's a wide range of good options - both ss and tubed - from Prima Luna, Parasound (I know some here are using the Halo), Musical Fidelity, Creek, Rega etc. I'm sure Triton owners will chime in soon. If I were starting from scratch I would be looking at a new or used Hegel integrated with built-in DAC - the Hegels are absolute killer amps for the money. The beautiful thing is, with Triton Threes you don't need gobs of watts to make them sing.
I also have to admit I love integrated amps for their one box solution. Smaller footprint. Fewer cables. (We are into simplification these days.)
Congrats on your Threes! Hopefully we'll have a pair of 3+ in our living room very soon.
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