I would stay away from seperates in your price range and look around for a used YBA Integre. 50 very sweet high current beautiful quality watts of the best in its' price range. I owned this baby for 7 years, and it delivered the goods until I needed more goods.
Integrated or Separates on a budget
I am in the process of upgrading my existing system on a budget. My first purchase were Paradigm Studio 100 v2. I have a Sony cd carousel and an integrated I am replacing. At the very most, I have about $1200 to spend. I plan to buy used. I need to drive 2 sets of speakers. I have heard that getting separates is generally better all around, but I am not sure if it is possible to get quality pieces in my price range. Any suggestions?