What does it all mean Mr. Natural?

Since you're looking in the $2k range...I would suggest you check out Odyssey Designs. Their Stratos amp is one of the best amps I've ever had in my system, and it only costs about $1K. Don't let the price fool you it betters amp costing 3-4X as much. They also make the Tempest preamp that costs around $900. So, for about $2K, you could have a base set of electronics that would serve you well for years.

You can check them out at http://odysseyaudio.com or give Klaus a call (317)299-5578, he can help you make some decisions.

Plenty of quality amps to choose from, tubes are real nice but the care and feeding of tube amps can add up quickly enough. Solid state designs vary, I prefer my sound a little more laid back, so warmer sounding amps do it for me. If you're interested, I have a Classe amp for sale that would work well with your speakers and leave you with some coin for a decent preamp. ATB, Jeff

if you're a robert crumb fan, you might try one of his recordings. his latest is "les primitifs du futur; world musette." it's on harmonia mundi.

to your questions:

(1) there are some excellent descriptions of the classes of amps on a recent thread labeled "class a?" i won't repeat the responses. you can find it with "search headlines."

(2) an "integrated amp" combines an amp and preamp. a receiver adds a tuner to the mix. both integrateds and receivers can be solid state, tubed, or a combination of both.

(3) not all receivers can be used as preamps, tho most can. your receiver needs to have analog out connections that will mate with your amp (or you will need adapters on your interconnects).

(4) as for best system at the 2k pricepoint, i'll leave that for others. you might search on other threads on this question or visit the "virtual systems" section of this site for some pointers.

good hunting. -kelly