Shopping for an integrated, advice s'il vous plait.


Some time ago I decided to upgrade my stereo and spent virtually my entire budget on speakers (no regrets), tacking on a Harman HK3490 as an afterthought. Well, it recently bit the dust for no apparent reason. It was only $260 and gave me 5 years of almost daily service, so I'm not too mad. Unfortunately there's nothing comparable on the market at that price, adjusted for inflation. The closest thing I could find was the Yamaha A-S801, but it appears to have the same build quality as my previous receiver. I'm not sure I'm comfortable spending close to $1k on something with disposable quality, so I've been assessing my options within my budget ($1500 max). Looking for an analog integrated with quality components and construction that will last me at least 10 years. So far I've narrowed my options down to:

Yamaha a-s1000 (new)
or
Vintage i.e. Yamaha ca-2010, Sansui au-717, Pioneer sa-9500 ii etc. 

My only problem with vintage is that it seems to take many months of waiting before a deal comes up on the model you want. I see a fully recapped and restored au-717 recently went on eBay for less than $700. Probably not gonna find a deal like that in the next year, if ever. 

TL;DR Would like thy esteemed opinions to vet my purchase of a Yamaha a-s1000. 


unknoahble
I have a Yamaha CA-2010 that sounds great. I have connected it to my main system and was pleasantly surprised. I would definitely consider one of their modern integrateds. I've thought about replacing my high end separates with the Yamaha A-S3000.
uncledem and nakamaye,
I was considering the NAD375bee but not pleased to find out they are now made in China.
Then nutty sent me a link to the Anthem 225 integrated amp. WOW! What a beast!
I was wondering how long you guys have had yours and how reliable they are. Are they still made in Canada? And do you think it would match up well with my Paradigm Studio 100 v3’s?
Any help much appreciated😎
lots of good ideas. i second the croft idea. outstanding sound very good hand built amp. in head to head listening tests it beats many higher priced integrateds. i didnt purchse it only because the sound is very close to my red wine amp.