Hi OP,
Funny. I wanted to add a bsmt system about three years ago. and I started with a Parasound Hint 6. I have experience with Parasound and liked them. I own two of the big 5 channel amps A51 and they are tanks. They are each in a movie setup one in my ex wife's home and one in a vacation home. So a logical choice was the Hint 6. Then I started to listen to nicer stuff. Oh my. First ps audio BHK pre and BHK amp. Not that great for all the hype. Anyway, sold that and in a roundabout way ended up with Audionet Max amps and Pre G2. Night and Day. Parasound, as someone said, dark and veiled. Audionet dynamic and resolving but NOT fatiguing. Over your budget? sure. Over mine too but I am so happy with it. My friend listened to mine and then bought the Audionet Watt integrated. Much of the same sound. Bill at GTT would help you out there. Anyway...worth it by a mile!
I also even got in the JC1+ amps...nowhere close to the audionet stuff. Sometimes you have to spend a bit more to get amazing. The Max amps are very comparable in price to the JC1+'s but not comparable otherwise.
Thanks, Ken