Under 1k integrated recomendations


I am looking to spend under 1,000 on a new or used amp to drive Sonus Faber Concertino speakers. My issue is that I only want to use a CD player and tuner with it... no tape/pre out/record loop etc etc. So much of what I see has a ton of features that I wouldn't use but am presumably paying for. All I want is a simple amp with great clean sound. Doesn't need to be hugely powerful, but cant be too weird looking to keep wife happy.
Thanks for any suggestions.
peteinvicta1
As others have previously mentioned, the Bryston BP-60 is an excellent choice that will mate well with many speakers and comes with a 20 year transferrable warranty. I personally have always been impressed with Creek integrated amplifiers, their phono sections are unbelieveable for the price, and their are many available on Audiogon for less than your budget. There are some great deals available from a number of retailers on Anthem integrated amplifiers that may be the best bang for the buck out there now. Good luck.
As mentioned above, the Audio Refinement Complete and the Audio Analogue Puccini SE are two of the finest integrated's avaiable. Especially if you tend to like a smoother, warmer, more laid back sound, both of these amps provide very tube-like sound, even though they are completely solid state. In my opinion, either one of these would outperform the likes of Creek, entry level Musical Fidelity, etc. The only concern might be that both are only ~50 wpc.

I also agree with Drewfidelity... there seem to be a lot of Anthem integrated's at great prices these days. I just saw an INT 2 here on AudiogoN last week go for $550 (retail used to be $1800). The INT 2 is a hybrid, 90wpc, and if you can find one at around that price used, I think it is a steal.

Happy listening!
I'm surprised no one suggested Musical Fidelity A300. Bought one used for $1000 about a year ago, wonderful sound, sweet yet detail. Drives Thiel cs1.5 with plenty of power to spare.
The Audio Refinement keeps coming up and that is a very nice unit. Might also look at the Luxman 491 hybrid with tube preamp and solid state amp. 90 wpc. Some coming through Canada. Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle brings them in and places them on Ebay for around $500.
Another suggestion would be a Naim Nait 2. This model is a couple of years old but can be picked up for around 600$. It's a very musical amplifier with a simple yet functional no-nonsens design (3 inputs + phono, volume and balance control) housed in a small box. Uses DIN outputs, though.