Budget Audiophile Looking For Amplifier Suggestions

at that price, i would go for a good Marantz in the upper line, little else will beat it at that price, unless you can find an old XA.30 Passlabs or a FirstWatt.

Odyssey Karthago  Klaus is a great guy.

I have had great luck with older Classe  gear made in Canada . Plenty of power and beautiful sound . I am currently running a Classe  Model #10 power amp at 100wpc and a Classe Model 20 Preamp .I bought both pieces refurbished and should be good to go for another 20 years.Sound is a little on the dark side and I love it .Sounds very much like my friends Mark Levinson set up .Good luck in your quest . 
P S I also had Adcom gear in the past and was always impressed with the product but the Classe  gear is a major step up .

McIntosh has a signature sound that does not appeal to all of us hi fi people.  Some think of it as being a notch below what really good gear should sound like despite it's universally appealing blue meters and stunning prices.  It is solid stuff, made right here in the U S of A and nevertheless, must be  in high demand to sell for those prices, which are never on sale, if new and current.
I own an ancient SS small power amp by McIntosh, which synergizes remarkably well with my old Klipsch La Scalas and Heresys.

Most of the great ones for your need have been mentioned. Personally, I like the McCormack, Odyssey and Sunfire suggestions. Most of the Sunfires have choice between voltage and current outputs, which let you tailor the sound to "tubey" vs. more traditional SS sound, which can be a benefit. The Odysseys allow for monoblocks which will give you better stereo separation and potentially less noise. All of these would be good choices. Cheers,
Spencer