Retirement integrated amp for a “fiscal conservative”

@phd thank you for your observations (yes, Ive received some great and a variety of advice which is wha I hoped for with the vast diversity of audio experiences this membership represents)!

I do appreciate your recommendation of going the separates route, but a couple of aspects give me pause pursuing that route:

1. With separates providing even greater opportunities for future upgrade, that would make it harder for me to resist my goal of this being the last significant $$ upgrade to my system. 
2. As you mention, some companies have overcome the pre-amp/amp co-habitation issues and manufacture integrateds that provide A-rated sound quality. As my 68 year old tinnitus-ridden ears are far from being classified as “golden ears” I likey can’t tell the difference between a well implemented integrated design from separates. 
3. Based on #2, I suspect I’ll be able to achieve the best sound my ear/brain system, can resolve and enjoy, more cost effectively with a nice (new/used) integrated if my current tube rolling experiment doesnt pan out. 

Sorry to hear you have tinnitus. This is a reason to choose very carefully. Very trebly solid state units like Luxman are probably going to exacerbate your tinnitus. Happily I do not have tinnitus. But having discussed it with many folks that do, you want a very warm musical sound. Highly detailed components tend to exacerbate the problem. Tubes are a really good choice... and probably not Rogue. I'd look at Conrad Johnson, Audio Research. I'd go listen to an Audio Research I-50... it is very musical with amazing PRaT. 

Try to find an ASR Emitter 1 Basic, the Rolls Royce of integrateds. Solid state but actually is as liquid as tubes, with solid state bass and excellent highs. AND, it does both macrodynamics and microdynamics exceptionally well. Imaging is spectacular (almost matches my Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes in that respect, and that is saying a great deal!

Brand new, here in the US, they cost $13,000. A few thousand less in Europe. The Music Room has one for $3,800. If I didn’t have one, I’d buy it.

I'm a 63 year old audiophile (for 40 years), with tinnitus. Tinnitus is brought on by hearing loss, especially high frequency. The best thing I have done  to my audio listening experience is invest in GOOD hearing aids. What has worked for me is ReSound Nexia, but there are a other brands to investigate, that musicians use. Drop the money on your hearing, not expensive gear. Perhaps investigate the NAD M33 integrated. I moved from Jeff Rowland Consummate/Model 2 into my Dunlavy SCIV's to the NAD M66/M23 and I love it. I hated digital and class D amps until recently, but technology has marched on. Good hearing aids will eat up a bunch of your budget, but will help in many other ways. 

Aavik Axxess Forte, there are 3 choices or a used Aavik i180, i280, i580 whichever works best for you. Aavik makes what I consider some of the best electronics in the world. Investigate and try to get a listen.