I use a Keces E40. $750 with a preout, two RCA inputs, a mm phono stage and a usb input with internal dac. I think its suitable as a main driver, desktop, or spare in case one is in-between or having their amp repaired/serviced.
I think its a better option than most of the others near its price point as well as those higher priced. That includes the small Regas, Spark and Emotiva if not for outright power output but for SQ and versatility. Small form factor and 10 lbs. Comes with a remote.
I have two and they drive my smaller speakers well ranging from 4 ohms to 6 ohms, but those that dip well below 4 ohms over a larger frequency range will heat it up (Dali Menuet SE), otherwise heat is not an issue.
Distortion on a Klipsch speaker rated at 102 dB at 1 watt may or may not be low enough for you but it won’t sound sterile, IMO. At 8 ohms, 0.2 watts was measured having 0.3%THD+N, decreasing as you increase power but can be modulated by using a pre or dac with a decent pre. At higher output, say 2 watts, distortion falls below 0.08%.
Its pre section was stated to have a class A sound and its smooth and very close to my Hegel on my speakers at the SPLs I listen at. If you listen primarily to the Hegel, you may notice a very slight difference between the two but not for long as you adjust. Bass is better on my smaller speakers for two reasons, one the high damping on the Hegel can be too much and the Keces adds from 1 to 2 dB from around 50hz to 30hz, which adds a bit more of support but still sounds relatively fast, tight and layered.
Can’t say how it will sound on the big woofers but I like it. I think it outperforms alot of the above mentioned budget options due to its superior SNR, dynamics and damping in comparison.
Per one review, here are how it spec’ed out: