looking for a tube integrated

there are some great feals on used audio note stuff around. check out the auction sites. i enjoyed my P2SE for years and only sold it because i need some cash. great stuff.

If you want Made in America, then your best two options are Manley Stingray and Conrad Johnson CAV 50. Both are around 2200-2500 new, but you may be able to find them used around 1200. Still a little more than you planned. ML uses Rouge at the trade shows, but I find that integrated closed in at the midrange and mushy in the bass. It may work better with other speakers, but I never liked it with ML. Their amps are another story. Go with one of them and a passive device, which is what you can do with any tube amp you like.

Leaving the US, your options increase. The Antique Sound Lab amps are quite nice sounding and would mate well with your Kestrals. I listened to their new 20 watt monoblocks recently right out of the box. They were suprisingly nice and handled everything I threw at them. A little grain on top, but with good tubes you could solve this. At $500 for the pair, you cannot go wrong. However, you probably want more power. Jolida and Consonance come to mind. Look into Consonance.

Hybrid options could include Blue Cirlce integrated, but again, more than 1K and hard to find used.

The other option is to go after a used Pass Alpha 30 ($900) and add a passive device as a volume control. This amp will make the ML sing! It really depends on what you need for inputs and your CD player.

There are options at 1000-1200, but you need to take time and let your ears tell you what is best. Think a little creative and you will find something awsome. Cheers!

Also look into the ARC CA-50, a great piece that will cost a little more than 1K used but is worth it.

aronov intergrated---very cost effective--driving vandy 3sig just fine