I will give my 2 cents on this matter being involved in this mad science that we all call a "hobby" ! As previously stated everything comes with a price point ....the more your willing to spend the better your system will sound ! If your budget is unlimited separates will always win in the end because of flexibility ! Saying that; to me it comes to what you listen too and what speakers you are going to base your system on . Over the years I have used Musical Fidelity { back then called British Fidelity ) A1 ( 20 watts of glorious Class A power) , Forte separates ,both Class A & a monster 200 watt beast ,McCormack Micro series complete system even using their Micro amps as 2 mono's , Audible Illusion system and Assorted Conrad Johnson products including their CAV 50 integrated ! Each system mixing and matching sounded great depending on my speaker choice . After over 30 years of being able to purchase these used components has come to this : synergy within the same product line is real & not a advertisement gimmick ! To these old ears but together they always sound better ! After all on this BS from me I have settled for just 2 set-ups that I rotate about every 6 months. The CJ CAV 50 ( also very high (WAF) because of ease of use and the Audible Illusion's ! Speakers used , also rotated , Vandersteen 1 C's , Totem Arro's , Thiel '1.5 's and ERA 5 's . What i really like about the CAV 50 is the sound that only tubes can create and if the 45 watts of power is not enough you can bypass and use it as a preamp ! Only drawback is that there is no remote version available . Highly recommended !