As an owner of the 383, I usually read most posts about it and other integrated’s in its category and I hear a wide gamut of thoughts and outcomes. You have listed some nice integrated amps and I am sure all are good, but with the wide range of results I have read, it leads me to believe it will more than likely come down to what works best with the rest of your system and your personal liking.
Like you, I don’t have a lot of shops in my area, so if I ever want to try something, it is very difficult. As the previous poster said, he found he liked the Mac better with his 802’s; I recently conversed with another gentleman that tried both the 383 and the 6900, (in his system, this is rare, most comments are based on different systems), and he found the 383 more musical but liked to rock out and the extra power of the Mac allowed him to do so, so he went for what worked with him.
Like you, I don’t have a lot of shops in my area, so if I ever want to try something, it is very difficult. As the previous poster said, he found he liked the Mac better with his 802’s; I recently conversed with another gentleman that tried both the 383 and the 6900, (in his system, this is rare, most comments are based on different systems), and he found the 383 more musical but liked to rock out and the extra power of the Mac allowed him to do so, so he went for what worked with him.