Lev, given your speakers tend to dip into the somewhat more difficult to handle nether impedance regions, you may want to consider one of the class D amps that have a high damping factor but are also very musical. In your price range you may want to consider the Bel Canto Ref 1000M, previously called Ref 1000 Mk.2. I have reviewed it on issue 43 of Positive Feedback and it can even handle my difficult Vienna Mahlers without breaking a sweat. . . and it can generate loads of controlled bass. It's a monoblock amp, but being only 8.5 inches wide per chassis, 2 chassis are only as wide as a standard component. See the review at:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue43/bel_canto_ref1000.htm
The power rating is 500W into 8 Ohms, doubling into 4. If the 1000M were too powerful for your application, look at the Ref 500M, very similar to the 1000M but with half the power rating. One significant difference is the 500M is not balanced in the output stage, so that only the positive speaker terminal carries an active signal, while the negative lead floats. This may yield a little less bass control for a difficult speaker, but may let you connect your Valedine directly to the amp outputs if you chose to do so. G.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue43/bel_canto_ref1000.htm
The power rating is 500W into 8 Ohms, doubling into 4. If the 1000M were too powerful for your application, look at the Ref 500M, very similar to the 1000M but with half the power rating. One significant difference is the 500M is not balanced in the output stage, so that only the positive speaker terminal carries an active signal, while the negative lead floats. This may yield a little less bass control for a difficult speaker, but may let you connect your Valedine directly to the amp outputs if you chose to do so. G.