Lots of good suggestions from the cognoscenti! I think the first decision is whether you prefer tubes or solid state. I'm firmly rooted in the tube camp. At CES, Cary unveiled the Rocket 88, 4 KT88s, 20 watts triode, 40 in pentode. They used it to drive a B&W Nautilus 801, to demonstrate how it handles difficult loads...in triode mode!! Most important, it was extremely impressive in delivering the music...$2500.
