If you want to hear acoustic music reproduced well, then no solid state integrated amp in your price range will probably work. During the past year, I have owned both an Audio Refinement Complete and an NAD C350 and have recently gone back to tube separates. I didn't spend alot. I got an AMC tube amp and a Quicksilver LS for a total of around $1,300. This combination easily beats both integrateds in transparancy, soundstaging, timbral accuracy, dynamics, etc. On acoustic music, the performance gap between tubes and solid state is huge. I could have come closer to spending $1k if I had gotten an AMC preamp. I have also heard your speakers sound good with a VTL tube integrated. I don't recall the model# but it had 85wpc. For whatever reason, AMC stuff has been overlooked by the marketplace and there are some good buys available on it. Probably not as well made or overbuilt like some gear.
