Integrated vs. Separates on a Budget

+1 on the Rogue Cronus Magnum.  I have the II and I believe the phono pre is improved on the III.  I am using a separate phono stage because I already had one, but it was pretty good in the Magnum II.  It has plenty of power to drive Ohm Walsh 5000’s, 87db, louder than I want to listen.

I have run speakers that most would be considered to be outclassed by my electronics for a couple of decades. Your interest in an integrated is appropriate and will get the most out of your speakers. Should you ever decide to upgrade, then you know you can upgrade your speakers and have an amp to support them.

As far as your salesman saying “The salesman at my local audio store said amp technology has not changed since the mid 80’s” The is categorically misleading and patently false. The performance levels since the 80’s has changed profoundly. This is the kind of statement to come from a salesman where I would politely as for the manager and see if the manager actually knows anything about audio.

I have a jolida 1501 integrated amp with maranta cd5005 and signet sl260 speakers nht sub. That’s my setup with your budget! I’m satisfied with the sound for what I paid. One day will make the move for higher end!

You could get a used Parasound A21 with a new Schiit  Freya plus. That would kick the pants off the majority of integrated amps at 3k. 

Cambridge Audio EVO 150 seems to tick all your boxes 

and hit the $3k budget right on the nose…..