Research, research, research is part and parcel of being an audiophile and let's face it, it's fun. For example, I went from seriously considering a SET from Decware and a Mytek Dac to drive a pair of Zu Audio Dirty Weekends, to actually purchasing a Hegel H90 w/ excellent on board DAC driving new Focal Electra 1008 BE's on sale for 1/2 price. Yes, there are many, many options in your price point, but imho, you will absolutely love the simplicity, transparency, versatility and POWER of a Hegel H390 driving any speaker you pair it with. As far as tubes, have you looked at Rogers?
