Best integrated under $1500 with Phono

plinius 8200 is one of the best integrateds at any price IMO. just slighty above your budget on the used market. this amp served me well before moving to seperates.

Baranyi,
Sounds like your budget has dropped since you originally inquired about amps & preamps to drive the 4.5s.
It probably isn't what you want to hear, but IMHO you won't be fully taking advantage of your investment in the 4.5s with any integrated in this price range.
Can you get a decent amp? Sure. Will it maximize what the 4.5s were made to do, I doubt it. In fact, I'd guess that if you ask A.V.S., he'll say the same.
You've got a speaker that thrives on high current than most tube-friendly designs. It has resolving power that mades tubes best choice. That's why the BAT amps are a great match for them.
For $1500, I'd recommend a CJ CAV-50 and an external phono like a Lehman Black Cube or Phonomena. However, I think you'd be a lot happier in the long run if you wait until budget allows more $. If you haven't already bought the 4.5s, I'd reallocate more of the budget to the hardware and get the VR2s instead.
Cheers, Spencer

Used YBA Integre Delta DT.

Baranyi,
You can probably guess from my setup that I'm partial to McIntosh gear. If you don't mind getting used, I would recomend going separate. Depending on availability and your luck you can get a nice Mc pre with phono for about $700-$800, and for another $700-$800 a nice amp, like mc7100 (100Wx2), mc2505 (50Wx2) or similar.

Sbank, thanks for your comments! I am actually all over the board on this topic. I wanted to see what was available in a reasonably priced integrated because this hobby can get expensive in a hurry. My middle tier option at the moment is to get either the BAT vk-60 and the vk3i preamp or the VTL MB 125's with the 2.5 preamp. What I really want to do is order the Berning zh-270 amp and the Supratek Syrah preamp. Each day my mind changes on the most prudent approach. Now it is up to me to determine whether most prudent means sonically or financially! Up till now, the dealer who sold me the 4.5's had lent me a Sophia 40 watt integrated which was only barely adequate. Even with the Sophia and the Rotel RCD1072, the VS 4.5 was nice to listen to except for loud passages of orchestral works. One can do much worse than an el-34 based amplifier. I really did feel that better electronics would make this speaker really sing. It is by far the best piece of audio gear that I ever have owned. I really appreciate your thoughts.