Best Integrated that you've heard under $5k

Interesting question in that I am presently looking for a new integrated in the $3k range (now probably the $5k range after various demos). SS likely due to the heat though I did listen to some tubes just for curiousity, Listened to a variety of products but the ones that stood out were 3 Belles amps...Aria, Signature and their top of the line which was excellent but out of my range at $7k.  The $2300 "entry level" Aria was superior to the Marantz PM 8005 I have now which is a nice but entry level unit. The Sig was definitely worth the incremental $2k step up. I also listened to the Rogue CM3... nice but not really distinctive as a tube amp. Listened to various Rega units from Io up the line and was very surprised how good they sounded....Still thinking about that line. Also, various Hegel amps which were good but to my ears maybe a little dark. Liked the McIntosh integrateds 5200 and another but not as much as I thought I would and vs their prices. Very curious about Luxman and Pass and hoping to get back to US to listen to those then make a decision. Biggest takeaway I had was that there are MANY really good integrateds these days and likely no "Best". It is likely a combination of sound, features, warranty, looks and availability that will do it for me and there could easily be a couple that fill the bill. 

I’d have to say that for me (I’ve been an audiophile since the mid-1960s) it has been the Yamaha A-S801BL unit that I’m currently using. I especially like the chassis layout, the single subwoofer out jack and the access to the internal DAC features that let me hookup a Sony UBP-X800M2 Blu-Ray player that does not have an internal DAC and play SACD discs, and FLAC files that I can stream off my home network. If plays back nicely through a pair of KEF Q750 towers. The overall sound is sweet and accurate. Fell in love with Yamaha when I was a live audio mix engineer for several bands and started using the Yamaha PM-1000 console at live gigs. It blew the doors off my old Soundcraft Limited Edition 24x4 console.

Cayin tube amps....what model funny there all good...

Under $5,000 the no longer made Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 was the best integrated I ever heard or owned. The serviceability became an issue so I moved on. Now I think the Aesthetix Mimas is the best I ever heard but it’s outside the $5K price point. Under $5K today I would pick the Belles Aria Signature.

LTA Z10 (or Z40 if you are lucky to find a used one)