integrated amps

You may want to look at the NAD 317, has a little more power than the C340 which is recieving high praise. I had seperates tubes/ss and decided to simplify my life. I was very concerned about the potential loss and impact it would have on my perception of and actual impact on the sound. I was really surprised at how great the unit sounded. The 317 sounds as good as anything two and three times its price -- I think the unit retail for around $750, but you can get them for $600 new -- check out the reviews at www.audioreview.com...for the money I'm not sure you can do better. Good luck with your search.

For amps I've listened to, these sound the best to me. Solid state, Jeff Rowland. For tube, Jadis Orchestra Reference(not Orchestra!) or the DA-30. Both Jadis amps are basically the same in the power amp section(4 KT90's + 2 12AX7's), the preamp section on the Orchestra Reference is passive, on the DA-30 it is active. I prefer passive. The DA-30 costs about $2000 more. The Orchestra Reference is newer, has their new KILLER cosmetics featuring stainless steel, 24K gold plated brass, and wood. The Orchestra Reference also has bass and treble controls(they want to see if there is a desire out there for these), don't worry about the sound being affected, the preamp is PASSIVE. Why is the Orchestra Reference so much better than an Orchestra? MASSIVE transformers(compared to only "huge" in the Orchestra), better internals, cosmetics, power, bass, sound, + the cosmetics. They really should have come up with a different name to avoid the confusion with an amp that is "only" rated Class A by Stereophile. In short the Orchestra Reference beats the smaller Jadis like a rented mule.

perhaps a Plinius

Plinius 8150i, Unison Research S6 !

Cary 300sei-appx 15 wattsof magic. No i don't own it but have auditioned it many times. it is on my wish list for my bedroom system. For my sytem I have Classe seperates. Which are very good by the way.