I have the creek evo100a you noted as having not been mentioned above. I paired it with Kef LS50s and love it. I have a friend with a peachtree nova300 and we both preferred the creek when swapping them out... however both amps are good enough that it’s a subjective preference rather than anything overwhelming and you might find the opposite to be true for you. I got it because I wanted a small form-factor, one-box, simple system for the master bedroom but it has since moved to my home office. One minor quibble when it was in the bedroom TV/music combo system is that the remote can’t turn the power on/off. This was an annoyance when watching TV before bed but wasn’t the reason for the change (wife wanted to downgrade to a sound-bar for space saving/aesthetic reasons) and it doesn’t bother me at all in a music only system in my office. I’ve spoken to a handful of other creek owners and all speak highly of the sound quality compared to other amps they’ve owned. I have the Ruby DAC module you can add but not the phono module. The DAC module adds digital inputs, a FM tuner, and Bluetooth but not built-in streaming...so while the sound quality is really good for the price, it’s not up-to-the-moment connectivity for a DAC. Without the DAC module there are only analog inputs.
Compared to the peachtree, I’d describe the creek as more smooth & musical but slightly less analytical/precise. Definitely a fun and non-fatiguing sound that I can listen to all day. Some worry about electronic gremlins with British electronics, but I’ve never had any issues with mine in ~4yrs of ownership.
Sadly for you, the price of the evo100a is outside the range you gave, especially once you add the DAC & phono modules if you intended for that connectivity to be included at your price point. I can’t speak to the 50a because even though they look almost identical, they actually use totally different amp technology with the 50a using class a/b and the 100a using class G amps. If you can find the creek evo100a in your price range and it has the connectivity you need, it’s definitely a very good sounding integrated. I’d guess the 50a would be too, but I really don’t know.
If all analog connectivity is an option and you can find a used one in your price range, I’d also recommend the Belles Aria integrated...no frills, but it sounds fantastic.
Compared to the peachtree, I’d describe the creek as more smooth & musical but slightly less analytical/precise. Definitely a fun and non-fatiguing sound that I can listen to all day. Some worry about electronic gremlins with British electronics, but I’ve never had any issues with mine in ~4yrs of ownership.
Sadly for you, the price of the evo100a is outside the range you gave, especially once you add the DAC & phono modules if you intended for that connectivity to be included at your price point. I can’t speak to the 50a because even though they look almost identical, they actually use totally different amp technology with the 50a using class a/b and the 100a using class G amps. If you can find the creek evo100a in your price range and it has the connectivity you need, it’s definitely a very good sounding integrated. I’d guess the 50a would be too, but I really don’t know.
If all analog connectivity is an option and you can find a used one in your price range, I’d also recommend the Belles Aria integrated...no frills, but it sounds fantastic.