Amps Under $1k to Pair with ELAC and Klipsch Speakers?


Short version: Looking for suggestions on amp gear (integrated or separates) to pair with ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 and Klipsch RP-600M speakers for ~$1k (or less). Could be used gear.

Long version:
My quite modest system consists of a Yamaha R-202 stereo receiver, ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 and Klipsch RP-600M speakers. I listen to both sets of speakers interchangeably. I recently got the Klipschs so not looking to upgrade speakers for awhile. I also don't want to upgrade my source (Ross Martin 24-bit DAC) quite yet as I'd like to save up for an R-2R DAC way out in the future. I'm starting to think that my $129 receiver is the next thing to upgrade, specially since my speakers scale very well the better the amp is (at least according to some Youtube reviews I've seen).

I listen to all sorts of music but mainly rock, classical, vocal and some EDM. Most of the time, my music is NOT high-quality recordings since I only have MP3s, Amazon Music HD, and Youtube as sources. But, with some exceptions, I haven't had any issues with the music sounding awful thru my system. I usually listen at reasonably loud but lively volumes. According to a free sound meter phone app, I average about 80-85 dB (peaks of 93dB) at listening position 7.5 ft away from speakers.

Here's what I'm looking for:
  • The amp has to pair well with BOTH sets of speakers. So I'd guess this rules out too-bright sounding amps since they'd not pair well with the Klipschs. The ELACs are more balanced so I think warm-sounding amps would work.
  • The integrated amp (or the pre-amp) must have a remote volume control.
  • Tone controls would be highly-desirable (given my low quality source material) but not absolutely necessary. Even with my low quality music files, I usually only use the tone controls in the receiver about 10% of the time.
  • Would prefer the amp had 100W per channel at 8 Ohms or more (going by Paul McGowan's philosophy that more is better for dynamic headroom) since my current receiver is 100W. Though, I know it's also about the quality of the watts so any suggestions in the 50-100W per channel range are also welcome.
  • Sub-outs (or full range pre-outs) would be nice to have for future integration with a sub. I know you can buy some subs with speaker level inputs so having pre/sub outs is not absolutely necessary.

Any suggestions? Could go up to $1,200 for the perfect gear.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
Schiit Saga+ (tube pre-amp + solid state power amp option is very tempting) paired with:
  • Schiit Vidar
  • Emotiva A-300 (too bright?)
  • Marantz MM7025

Rotel RA-1570 (saw this used for $880, main selling point is that it has balanced inputs. My DAC has balanced outputs I'm not currently using.)

Outlaw Audio RR2160 (main selling point is the bass management for experimenting in the future with high-passing the main speakers so future sub handles all the low frequency effects.)

IOTAVX stack (don't know much about this one besides what I've seen on Youtube reviews)

Could always go back to Yamaha with A-S801 stereo receiver but rather not go back to the same company. I wanna try something different to broaden my experience.

Thank you all in advance for the help.
carlosaudio51
Millercarbon, I believe if you reconsider the point I made, you might find that we are in agreement. My system is structured with the believe that all components matter and considered equal regarding the sonic outcome. 
Soix,
Mesch,

I agree with you, 100%. The quality of my source material has always been a lingering concern on the back of my mind so I recently started working on that. I have Amazon Music HD (on a 3-month free trial) and it is a noticeable difference when I compare the same song in my MP3 library to the Amazon Music HD version (usually in CD quality, some songs are better). I'm gonna be jumping over to Tidal free trial (maybe Qobuz after that) to try that and see which one I wanna pay for, long term.

I just started this thread to start looking at options for amp upgrades. I'm in no rush to upgrade but I usually like to take my time asking questions and researching before buying gear. Thought I'd start looking at my options.
It never gets better than anything. Every single thing in the signal path does damage to some degree. No one part is any more important than any other. Therefore, what sounds like it means something- "it never gets better than the source"- in reality means nothing. The source is no more or less important than anything else.


Frankly, I think you should be more concerned about the quality of your source material than your amp.  A Qobuz subscription is only 15 bucks per month, and this is probably the best and cheapest upgrade you can make right now.  Throwing $ at an amp with out better source material is like polishing a turd, IMHO. 
Cool, thanks. Got 3 new, good options so far. I gotta read up a little more on each option about how they sound.
Audio Advisor sells a Vincent integrated, SV-500 for $1000. Tube preamp, SS amp. If looking at your budget I would consider this as one option.
Sorry for the short reply for now as I'm in a time crunch.  I can elaborate more about these two suggestions in detail if you check them out and have interest in either one.  
Take a look at used and under $1000
-Wyred 4 Sound STI-500v2 
-Peachtree Nova 150

check features, connectivity, power into 8 ohms & 4 ohms and then some reviews.  I have several Elacs including the 2.0 B6.2 and UB5 as well as some harder to drive full range speakers that I rotate in with both of those integrated amps.  Love them both and I do not like bright sounding gear.

Cheers