Best integrated under $1500 with Phono

YBA Integre. Cannot beat for the price. There's one on the 'gon for sale. Grab it. I cannot think of a better SS 50 watts new or used. I owned one for 7 years and loved it. peace, warren

I just picked up an Arcam FMJ A22 for $850, which I think is a steal. But if you are willing to consider tubes, an Audio Research CA50 might be nice. Or even a new Jolida integrated. You may have to go with external phono pres, though.

Tom.

I'd say the sim i5 and yba integre dt are on par in the 1100$ range.

for $1700ish you can get a Plinius 8200 mkII

if your new to home audio I'd stick with solid states...
if you can find one I've heard great things about Electrocompaniet ECI3's

Baranyi,
The Berning is all that & more. It is definitely better with a preamp, but still better than most other things running direct. Buying the Berning now, and waiting on a preamp might be the ticket for you.
I didn't have the Berning until a few months ago, and the VR4.5s were sold long before, so never heard them together.
This amp is so far in a different class than the others mentioned in this thread(as it should for the price), it's like comparing a Ferrari to a bunch of Hondas & Toyotas. They might be overachievers at their price point, but head-to-head, no contest.

RE: BAT cables, you don't need twice as many cables, you just need interconnects with XLR connectors. Your speaker cables can still be single wired or bi-wired, your choice. I used a few different ones: Transparent, Audioquest, Audio Magic(who makes the VR jumpers).

Cheers, Spencer