Favorite integrated amp?

If you want tubes, I love the Cary SLI-80. It's near the top of your budget. Switchable b/w 40w and 80w. Very easy to bias and sounds great. Looks great too! I used it with a Cary CD-308 and MM deCapo i's speakers. Plenty of power and great bass. Overall an excellent amp for the money. I did sell it to try out the world of SETs but sometimes I still miss the extra power and tight bass of the Cary. I now have a Vaic 300B SE, 15w SET integrated and though the bass isn't as tight the virtues of SET's midrange sing clearly in this integrated. Imaging is superb but needs v.good cables to sound it's best. Same CD and speakers.

Thank you all for your suggestions so far.

Stuartbranson...I`d like to know which cables you`ve selected to run with your set amp.

Also, I can`t seem to find any reviews of the belles 250i on-line. Maybe somebody can point me in that direction.

Hi:
A lot depends on the sensitivity of your speakers and how much power you need but IMHO, you cannot go wrong with the Audiomat mentioned above.

I remain,

Capt, Try Audio Aero Prima int. out. You should be able to get a used one for less than what you are looking to spend. Hybrid amp with a ECC88 tube and Mosfet for the power. Website would have more info on this. Mine is an MKI with 3inputs, pre out or use it as a straight power amp. This amp is nice sounding, very affordable and a keeper for a while. The rest: Audio Aero Prima cdp, Cardas Cross bi-wire and IC, van den Hul cords, Tice E4 pc, Kinima G1 speakers and HRS pucks and couplers.

Still working on it.