Which Intergrated amp for starter??

a used $300+$400 NAD integrated amp is a solid bet as are others above. when you have about $800 consider tube amps, given your tastes you may prefer that sound over solid state. imo unless you spend more than a couple grand on an integrated solid state amp there will not be a helluva sound difference between quality SS amps. do get a quality cd player (NAD is affordable) and audition new formats of hi def cd's on market. they blow regular cd's away! nice speaker choice btw, you are off to good start!

the nad

I just purchased the Qinpu A-1.0x and think it's one of the best integrated amps I've heard in this price catagory.

A good choice for the Totem Rainmakers would be the Musical Fidelity A2. If you can find one,price should be in your comfort zone. Class A output 25 WRMS into 8 ohms and 50 into 4 ohms. Speakers you have are indeed 4 ohms.

A2 also has a phono section on board as well. Great liquid signature as only Class A output can deliver. Hard to find the A2 in secondary market, most folks just don't give them up. But worth the search.

Would suggest you review NAD, Rotel and Music hall as these are units I have had good luck with. The NAD tends to have a little less detail, The Rotel amps are very good but don't sound well with lower quality inputs and the Music Hall and Creek are excellent but a bit more expensive, but if you can afford it well worth the price. There are a lot of great used speakers out there. Go to a dealer who is recommended to you for his knowledge and listen to a variety of speakers. I have Sonabs which have been greened up and a pair of Aura's (a.k.a.Lineaum) which have also been reworked. The tweeter on the latter is fantastic but is easily blown in the basic model (two way). I have compared these against the vandersteens for one and find them much better to my taste. I should mention that I like the "point source" or surround type speakers (usually bipolar tweeters) for better sound staging, particularly with small groups. However, you may find you don't like these. Point is, speakers in particular are a very personal purchase and the best way to find a pair that will suit you is to review as many as you can before you commit your money. I probably looked at over 50 different speakers before buying my last pair. Also take a few CD's with you, that you are very familiar with to test the speakers. Last but not least, try to audition the speaker, amp combination you want to buy if you can.