Integrated recommendation help


Please recommend integrated  for Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
128x128kielecki
would like to stay under 2-3 k
I was looking at belcanto integrated or mcintosh ( I know this is over my budget) , main source of music will be CD and Sonos (possibly DAC purchased later)
In that price range, I would take a look at the Parasound HINT ($2,500) as it has nice power (John Curl design, too!) to drive your speakers and already has an excellent built-in DAC.

http://www.parasound.com/hint.php
I have a Bel Canto C5i and really enjoy it. I don't have Sonus Faber speakers, but my Golden Ear Triton 7s are similar in terms of sensitivity. The C5i is much more powerful sounding than its 60 watts a channel (8 ohms) would indicate. Power fully doubles at 4 ohms which indicates a good power supply. The sound is very smooth in the highs -- quite tubelike and extended -- and the bass is deep and solid. I have been very pleased with it. My only criticism is the display -- one would think in this modern age of electronics that they could do a little better than the green calculator digit display. However, it is a great amp for the money. 

Kielecki, I have owned the Peachtree Nova, Bel Canto, Hegel 300 and Hegel 160. The speakers I have are Joseph Audio RM25XL Mark 2, these speakers would be considered in the same range as yours.

The Peachtree was a nice warm sound with good imaging and depth but not near the Hegel level, which isn't surprising based on cost. I couldn't connect with the Class D Bel Canto, tried for months, finally went the Hegel route. The better your speakers the better the Hegel's sound. I demoed the Hegel 300 with a pair of Focal Sopra No.2, and it did everything I was used to but on a whole other level. Not just a step up but a major leap, what I am trying to say is the Hegel has many higher gears in it and would support speakers at 4 times it cost should you ever decide to go to a higher level speaker in the future, which I am now doing with the Focal's. Test the Hegel's they are really good, also plenty of reviews available. Just my opinion. Happy hunting.