For under half your budget you can get a used Antique Sound Labs AQ1001DT. I have had one for almost 2 years (a record for me). Reliable, sounds great with no mods (but does benefit from good tubes), and drives most speakers easily. I 'upgraded' to the Audiomat Arpege, but still preferred the ASL AQ1001DT, and sold the Arpege. Currently I am finding it preferrable to a Plinius 9200.
