Which integrated amp with Harbeths?

He's right.

I am currently trying several integrateds with my SHL5's. Favorites so far: Cayin A88-T and Portal Panache. Both are well under your budget.

The Portal Panache is solid state, 100 wpc, but no remote.

I also have a Plinius 9200 here. Early listening impressions are not favorable, but I'll be giving it another try. I heard Harbeth and Plinius together at CES a few years back and liked it very much.

I think a reasonable amount of power is a good idea with the Harbeths. Also, I have the impression that your Ayre CDP may be happier feeding a balanced design (not sure of that, however), so maybe the Ayre integrated is something you could take a look at.

I too have had good results with Nuforce and Harbeth.

So what did you end up doing, Northwood_Maine? Curious minds want to know.

What did you think of the Ayre?

I suppose the integrated that Fidelis has to demo with Harbeth is the Lavardin. Did you hear it? I've been very curious about that product.

I heartily disagree. First, you will hear differences between amplifiers, albeit less so than with some other speakers. And if you are talking about the SHL5 model, you are not talking about a monitor and you probably won't feel a need for a subwoofer. But if you do, supplementing the bass with a REL will do the trick just fine. For that, you won't need pre out and amp in connections.