Shopping for an integrated, advice s'il vous plait.

Thank you all for the advice, it is greatly appreciated. I will take all that has been said into consideration. 

I really wish I could justify an Accuphase, vintage or new, as their offerings are the apple of my eye. My speakers are the Monitor Audio RX6, and they serve me well. No speakers I've auditioned have struck me as a worthwhile upgrade without going up in price an order of magnitude, but I digress. In my mind I can't justify spending more on an amp than the cost of the speakers it's paired with. How long will I be waiting to score an Accuphase for $1500? Probably forever, right? 

Of all the suggestions made so far, the Marantz PM-15SI looked the most promising, but alas it sold before I could make up my mind. The NAD suggestions look good on paper, but I can't get over their aesthetics (my amp is the focal point of the whole room, next to my record player). The Rogue Audio Sphinx looks intriguing; does anyone know if its tone controls can be bypassed? 

@yogiboy 

"The Rogue Audio Sphinx looks intriguing; does anyone know if its tone controls can be bypassed? "

Surely you jest !!!!

Right after I posted that I realized that it simply doesn't have tone controls, hehe

@helomech

IMO, the hill of diminishing returns becomes very steep beyond the $1200 range.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on that point. My budget isn't tight per se, it's just that I know my speakers aren't going to resolve anything much beyond amps in the 1500 range. 

My hk3490 actually miraculously came back to life, after I paid $40 to have to assessed by a technician of course. It was going into protection mode and turning off every time I flipped the power switch. I confirmed it wasn't an outlet issue or short before taking it in, of course. No idea. Anyway, I'm not sure I trust it anymore so I'm still looking for a replacement, though not being under pressure to buy has given me time to step back and further assess my options.

I was looking at the a-s1000 simply because it seemed like the best bet for 'I need to order an integrated today,' but it's not necessarily an integrated I can see myself never wanting to upgrade from. That would be the a-s1100. I actually saw it on sale at Amazon for $2k when I first started shopping, but now it's back up to 2.5k, sigh. I've seen some a-s2100's go for roughly $1500 on eBay, so maybe if a deal like that comes up again I'd go for it. Now the waiting game begins. 

PS - I have nostalgia for the comforting, hypnotic glow of the vu meters on my grandfather's receiver in his den, where I spent many hours of my childhood. It was a Yamaha, which explains my proclivity. I was willing to go without vu meters if I had to, but now that I can be pickier I don't think I'd consider anything without them. I know this is a purely emotional decision, but that is part of the fun of the hobby for me.