Re: Integra
I've been pretty set on one brand of speaker since I started listening, Kef. My first pair with the Integra in the old house was the Reference 2~2s as fronts, RDMs on the rears and Velo for the sub. I'm pretty picky about the sound being clear at both high and low volumes and Kef seemed to do the trick. In that setup, I had also later added in an Anthem MCA-5 200w per channel amp. This played very nicely in the setup. Definitely helped drive the towers much better. The midrange seemed to come alive more. I'm currently using just the 8.2 (no separate amp) driving Kefs best egg system for everyday use and have been very happy. Precise, clear and engaging. The only other speaker I would consider switching to now for my living room (main theater) would probably be Sonus Faber, close second would be Revel. I would consider these more sideways changes versus up the ladder though. I have listened to B&W and Tannoy critically also. I would consider buying used also off of Audiogon. You may stretch your budget even further. You do run the risk of older speakers and doing a little work on it, but your musical rewards will far outweigh the effort.
Currently in my main room, I'm running a McIntosh MX-135 pre, Sunfire amp and Kef Reference 4~2s, Velo DD-15 for sub. My ears are very happy to say the least. It has been many years of upgrading to get to that point though, like the other Mark says, it pays off.
Cool trick I learned. One of Kefs theories is that by isolating the actual woofers/tweeters from the cabinet, you avoid creating harmonics from the cabinet resonating. To prove how well they've done this, you can take a nickel and stand it on its edge on top of your speaker and let it roar. The nickel won't fall over. I haven't tried it with any other speakers, but it's amazing engineering.
