best sounding integrated for under 2500.00


just getting back into audio. want this to be my last purchase. like smooth warm sounding equipment as i listen to alot of metal and rock from the 80s. this can sound harsh on alot of equipment. been researching for months and im getting more confused by the minute. i thought creek destiny or krell 300 might do the trick. any other suggestions. powering psb stratus golds.
vikingnick
Good point. Vik, do you need phono? If so, I'm thinking a MAC 6300 might do the trick if you can get one at the price point. Not sure about Plinius, but I think it does come with phono. Again, I think the SIM integrateds, in the power range, would have to be right up there with these. I'll say this, if you had a Plinius, MAC, or SIM within the 100-150 watts range, you could do a lot worse:)driving a pair of PSB Golds.
You might want to try a Yamaha a-s2000. A future classic that we will talk about for a long time!
Yes, Plinius 9200 does come with a pretty darn good phono. The Mac 6300 is nice but maybe a bit underpowered at 100wpc into 8 ohms and 160wpc into 4 ohms. The Mac 6600 would be a stellar choice but is way out of your price range.. Plinius 9200 is 200wpc into 8 ohms and 280 wpc into 4 ohms.. so lot's of grunt for your PSB's. The Sim amps are also really really nice amps not sure if you'll find one with enough grunt in your price range though.
i have a cambridge 640 phono preamp. do you think its as good as the phono sections of these amps. or should i sell it and get a amp with a phono built in.
what do people think of the yamaha s2000? is it in the same class as the integrateds were talking about. im really talking about sound quality.