Best Bang 4 the $ Intergrated Amp

For SS bang for the buck, I've been partial to some of the NAD offerings for the past several years (I second the 326BEE, above, at around $400 used). Another alternative that I like is the Music Hall Mambo ($500-650 used), a warmish SS integrated with a built-in DAC. Or, for a little more clarity and authority, try the Musical Fidelity A3.2cr ($700-850 used). The Onkyo A-9555 gets a lot of buzz at around $400 NEW (maybe $300 used), but I haven't listened to one yet.

For tubes, the Jolida 302b ($650-750 used) is hard to beat, and it carries 45 WPC.

According to Stereophile's measurements, the Preludes measured 87 db efficient with a minimum impedance of a little over 4 ohms, so I would assume that either of the amps I mentioned above should drive them adequately.

Michael

What is his budget? I assume he would buy used and could wait for something to come up for sale.

Hard core bang for the buck... Audio Refinement Complete. This is surprisingly good and cheap. 50 watts to 8 & 90 watts to 4. In the same league in sound quality, but a bit more power is Musical fidelity A3cr or 3.2. A clear step up, still without being crazy would be a Coda.

I'd send him to the local discount electronics shop, off the shelf mass produced integrated amps can sound pretty darn good (to the point of making you wonder why you spent more on your gear). Perhaps he could even bring in his speakers and listen to them connected to the shops demo amps.
I moved up a notch in speakers and gave my old units to a relative, he drove them with his run of the mill Yamaha integrated and I thought they sounded great.
If he gets things to the level of "I'm looking for this or that type of presentation" then it will be time to be more persnickety about which integrated amp he wants.

Great feed back thus far folks, much appreciated.

I would say his budget is between $500 & $1000

Keep the suggestions coming.

Afranta I to have a pair of the Silverline Minuets for the bedroom powered by a Azur 640 Intergrated Cambridge...