Integrateds: $3K, $4.5K or $5K

I think you should finalize your speaker choice first, otherwise you're just spinning your wheels here. I know Joseph Audio has used the Hegel H300 with the Pulsars at shows once or twice. I didn't get to hear that pairing, but I bet it sounded pretty damn good. Pulsars are high on my list as well, as would be the H300 if I was in the market for an integrated. Best of luck.

@devilboy- touché. I was being overly snarky. I just find it über-muddying when someone doesn't just suggest a tangent to the OP, but diverges from it altogether. And I've never heard any of the Job line before, what draws you to it?

@Johnny- yes, the LSA line is incredible. I have the Statement and will never give it up until a younger, thinner model comes along. I'd compare it to the Ayre 5 or 7.

Simao, to my ears, the Job has tremendous "air" around instruments, and is very transparent. Its low noise floor brings out subtle nuances from deep in the soundstage. It has the warmest, most believable midrange and most articulate and tightest bass from any amplifier I've owned. It is easily superior to my EAR 890 and Dynaco ST-70 rebuild which are pretty amazing in their own right. There is a lengthy thread on the Job 225 here on A'gon contributed by very happy owners.

It was not my intention to derail the OP's thread, just to provide another option to the integrateds he was considering. If I posted a similar thread I would gladly welcome alternatives.

I heard one of the LSA integrateds at a friend's house a couple of years ago. It was ok, but didn't excite me too much. To each, his own. I guess that's why they make vanilla and chocolate.

Hey Devilboy, is this inside info on the JOB integrated? Their website just state a new preamp and mono amps. Don't get me wrong, I hope you are right, it would be a high value integrated sonics wise.

A friend told me he heard about Job releasing an integrated next year. I haven't been on the Job website in a while.