Integrated amp recommendation

If you are looking for a little warmth and lots of current to drive your speakers with aplomb, from what I have read — Parasound and Plinius would be good choices. I have heard Belles Aria and now have the Aria Signature. They are both fine integrated amps — but as mentioned by mesch above, there is no published data on what it delivers into 4 ohms. You want something that doubles the wattage from 8 to 4 ohms ideally.

Not much to suggest beyond what has been mentioned here already. I would just reiterate to pick something up on the pre-owned market as there is a ton of savings/value to be had.  

If you hurry, you might be able to snag the AYRE ax-7e used for $1400 listed currently on Audiogon. While I have not heard it, Ayre is in the upper echelon of American electronics and you could easily resell it if it doesn’t offer the sound you’re looking for. I bet it will be great, and I seriously doubt you can do better for the money.

Concerning Belles speaker power ratings questioned above:

Aria: 75W (Rms) per channel into 8 ohms, 125W (Rms) per channel into 4 ohms.

Aria Signature: 125W per channel into 8 ohms, 225W watts into 4 ohms.

Of the most frequently recommended integrateds in this thread, several are above the $1,500 price point (up from $1,000), such as Plinius, Parasound, Belles Aria and Musical Fidelity. Of the others that meet the robust power requirement, Rogue Sphinx and Ayre AX7e are doable. This is my entry into higher-quality equipment, so I would prefer to start the so-called journey at a relatively reasonable price level.