New or used amp?

Risking some negative comments, give a listen to the Creek 5350SE integrated, 85wpc, available from time to time at about $1150 used. If you like it, you can sell the preamp and buy more vinyl! See the Stereophile review, but I'll tell you my Creek/Alon Petite bedroom system sounds darn near as good as my $20k retail living room system.

The best you can get (in my opinion) for that price range if you are considering tubes is the VTL ST-85. You can get a used one for about $900. This Amp is excellent in every way. Great bass, highs and superb vocals and very liquid. I have this matched with Muse Model 2 DAC ( about $450 used with Bessell filter), Theta Data Basic ll ( about $500 used),Plinius 12 pre-amp, Reference 3A La Suprema speakers and Siltech cables. The combination is just amazing. Another one I'm considering is the Manley 50W Monoblocks. Good luck on your search.

If you want waranty and phenomenal sound, you can get a new Musical Fidelity A3cr for around $1500. They are truly wonderful sounding and Stereophile "Class A" (if you care). To me they sound much better than the 4B-st unless you need the extra power (the 4B-ST is the champion in the WATTS/Buck category).

Lots of good suggestions from the cognoscenti! I think the first decision is whether you prefer tubes or solid state. I'm firmly rooted in the tube camp. At CES, Cary unveiled the Rocket 88, 4 KT88s, 20 watts triode, 40 in pentode. They used it to drive a B&W Nautilus 801, to demonstrate how it handles difficult loads...in triode mode!! Most important, it was extremely impressive in delivering the music...$2500.