Which integrated amp would you pick?

Krelldog,

What did you get?

Halo is overrated, IMHO. And yes; I've read all the reviews, but in my system,in my room, I was very much underwhelmed. I've just finished a search for a new SS integrated and ended up with  Wells Audio Majestic. At $3600, it may exceed your budget, but in terms of musicality, to my ears, the Wells is far superior. Just thought I'd
mention it as Wells seems to be relatively unknown or at least,
rarely mentioned, in these forums. 

in this range a raven audio blackhawk or rogue cronus magnum ii with tube upgrades sounds much more transparent and dimensional than the halo.