Suggest a tube integrated for me . .

Recently sold a 60-hr Pathos Classic One MkII ... wonderful amp, beautiful aesthetic appeal, and never let it break-in fully before selling it. Had, and still have in stored condition, a Sophia Baby integrated I used for comparison. The Pathos is BY FAR the superior of the two, but the Sophia showed ME, which is not to say that it would prove true for anyone else in particular, the way I needed to go. Sold the Pathos, continued with the Sophia, and then upgraded with another company. Have not yet sold the Sophia, for whatever reason, and may never use it again, but I do know I won't be going back to SS. Check out the PrimaLuna or Cayin amps. Of course, Sophia makes great amps, too. The S Baby is TOTALLY black without signal, absolutely zero hum at -95dB, and 10 watts class A/channel. Clearly, there is a sacrifice involved, but NONE AT ALL when you consider what you pay to pick up a great used Sophia.

I wouldn't fool around with the hybrids, but that will depend multiple factors, not the least of which will be the impedance of your speakers.

What kind of speakers do you have and what are their basic specs; ie, impedance, sensitivity?

Check out the Aronovaudio.com website for the Aronov LS-960I, and you can usually pick up on Audiogon in the $1200 or lower price range, a splendid value. If you prefer to be sold by reading a professional review, there is an enthusiastic review on the site. You have picked a "sweet spot" in the price to performance spectrum so expect a bunch of fine alternatives, both used and new.
I am not sure what the factory direct retail price is currently so I mentioned the approximate Audiogon used price.

I am happy with the ASL AQ1001DT with stock tubes. I will upgrade the input tubes later on. But for the price it gives the best attributes to solid state and tubes.

How big is your room? What kind of music do you listen to? Do you need a phono stage built in? Is a remote a must have?

My listenig room is 22 x 16. I listen to a wide varitey of music, blues, jazz, R n R. I have a pair of Paradigm studio 60 speakers. No phono stage required.

Audio Research and Conrad Johnson both make great low powered integrated amps. Add a powered sub.

Gretsch

I am using a Prima Luna Prologue Two integrated tube amp ($1345 list) in a 15 X 10 X 8.5 room with Omega Super 3 high efficiency monitors (95 db sensitivity). I am also using a Prima Luna Prologue Five power amp ($1295) in a 25 X 15 X 8.5 room with Acoustic Research 302 large bookshelf/floorstanders (85db sensitivity).

I hadn't owned a tube amp in 34 years (had a Philco tube amp in high school) and I am very impressed with how musical sounding the Prima Lunas are. Plenty of power, excellent sound range, and just plain enjoyable.

They are sold by Upscale Audio .

Regards, Rich

In your price range [brand new, with warranty]take a look at the SQ-88 from Quest for Sound. It uses KT-88 tubes and has remote volume control. I use it with VSR JR4 speakers, very musical. Steve from Quest is a great person to deal with. Second choice a little less than 2k, would be new Rogue audio integrated. It adds a ss phono input and headphone output.

I've used Jolida, Primaluna and now Eastern Electric. If you can find one of the pre-circuit board Jolidas, grab it. I owned a sj-502A that was absolutely sweet and pretty powerful. Tried the Jolida 1000a - didn't like it AT ALL. It was very dry, distant sounding. Used the PrimaLuna Prologue One until recently, and in it's class, it is much more refined than the Jolida offerings and very powerful in spite of low wpc. It drove a set of Vandersteen 2ce sigs with room to spare. The Eastern Electric M520 is the best of the lot; greater detail than the PrimaLuna and deeper, more refined bass; worlds better than Jolida. Of course it is also more expensive. I did however work a deal based on a Agon auction and got a new M520 for basically the price of a PrimaLuna.