I'd send him to the local discount electronics shop, off the shelf mass produced integrated amps can sound pretty darn good (to the point of making you wonder why you spent more on your gear). Perhaps he could even bring in his speakers and listen to them connected to the shops demo amps.
I moved up a notch in speakers and gave my old units to a relative, he drove them with his run of the mill Yamaha integrated and I thought they sounded great.
If he gets things to the level of "I'm looking for this or that type of presentation" then it will be time to be more persnickety about which integrated amp he wants.
I moved up a notch in speakers and gave my old units to a relative, he drove them with his run of the mill Yamaha integrated and I thought they sounded great.
If he gets things to the level of "I'm looking for this or that type of presentation" then it will be time to be more persnickety about which integrated amp he wants.