Integrateds: $3K, $4.5K or $5K

Screw integrateds. Get a Job 225 and their new preamp OR wait for their new integrated that's rumored to be in the works. Musical Fidelty?............pAlease.

Simao, forgive me for lacking a shred of eloquence or verbal dexterity while
expressing my opinion regarding the OP's inquiry of amplification under
his consideration.......whew.
I was merely voicing my satisfaction of the Job line and while doing so,
mentioned the release of the new Job integrateds early next year which will
probably be on the low end of OP's price range saving him a few bucks.
Happy New Year and good luck Jbltmp!

Simao, to my ears, the Job has tremendous "air" around instruments, and is very transparent. Its low noise floor brings out subtle nuances from deep in the soundstage. It has the warmest, most believable midrange and most articulate and tightest bass from any amplifier I've owned. It is easily superior to my EAR 890 and Dynaco ST-70 rebuild which are pretty amazing in their own right. There is a lengthy thread on the Job 225 here on A'gon contributed by very happy owners.

It was not my intention to derail the OP's thread, just to provide another option to the integrateds he was considering. If I posted a similar thread I would gladly welcome alternatives.

I heard one of the LSA integrateds at a friend's house a couple of years ago. It was ok, but didn't excite me too much. To each, his own. I guess that's why they make vanilla and chocolate.

A friend told me he heard about Job releasing an integrated next year. I haven't been on the Job website in a while.