Integrated Amplifier

I was glad to see Musical Fidelity on your list. I've been in love with my Tri Vista 300 for so many years. It has that perfect balance of power and finesse, regardless of speaker load. I don't know about the current options...because I'm never interested in messing with a great thing.

In my opinion, I would say the Belles Virtuoso would be the no brainer choice of the group.

pjpicket
I think the Musical Fidelity M6500I is discontinued. Too bad because I have heard this amp and it is spectacular in every way. Dead quiet, true dual mono, and very powerful. If I could have afforded to buy it from my local dealer I am sure I would have been very happy with it.I have been using a Parasound A21 for a few years now and I don’t think the Parasound HINT would be that different except the power would not be as much. Parasound has made a JC5 now that is basically two JC 1 mono amps into one box. If that amp was paired with the right preamp, it would be as good as the M6500I.https://theaudiophileman.com/halo-jc5-power-amplifier-parasound/

How can the Virtuoso be a "no brainer" when it is already months past it's projected release date.  

The new anthem STR integrated is very  compelling. I’m in the same boat where I’m getting into 2 channel from a HT environment but don’t want to outlay for new speakers at the moment so HT bypass would be a nice feature to have for cost and convenience. I’m torn between 1. The Anthem STR because it’s new and “modern” looking and seems to be a nicely built, feature rich INT, 2. a used MAC7200 because I’ve always wanted to get into MAC gear and they hold their value surprisingly well, or 3. The PrimaLuna INT option that was already mentioned because it seems to be well built and gets great reviews as a way to get into a good tube amp for little money. I’m hoping to find some good real world reviews on the Anthem STR before I make my decision. I seem to be leaning towards the Prima Luna at the moment because I hear good things and I could add a decent TT for less than ether the anthem or used MAC gear. 

Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, just providing my three options that may suit your needs as well as they are all close to your mentioned budget and all have HT passthru.