Integrateds: $3K, $4.5K or $5K

Guys, I understand why you all love YOUR amps. We all do. Makes sense. I can't have tubes anymore. I have Quicksilver separates that would be AWESOME, but I'm sick of tubes and as much as I love them I wanted an amp that would give me that sweet sounds, but also tight low end etc.. I listened to Rogue even though it's tubed as my dealer also carries that along with AR, which I've always LOVED. I have listened to Krell since day one and even have a Stealth that I'm selling. It doesn't do it for me anymore. Honestly, it never did it for me. I always liked ML stuff better along with Rowland. the Bryston gear has always sounded nice for SS stuff, but I've heard Ayre in three dealerships recently with Focal, Paradigm, ML, Vandy, Proac and it's always sounded great. I've heard the Creek too and liked it, but to my ears it's not in the same league as the Ayres, especially with Vandy Treo's, which will be my speakers. I also am starting to get new AQ wires throughout that will replace top of the line MIT cables. I wanted to buy a real system finally and not just get pieces that were great on their own, but may not have had synergy if that makes sense. I am only getting a Music Hall DAC 25.3 with AQ Niagara balanced connections, but it sounds great compared to some more costly DACs I've been hearing. Eventually I hope to get a matching Ayre DAC as that's the best sounding one I've heard so far.

If you are looking for tube amplifier, Sophia Electric has a model named 126-03 that might be a great choice for power, resolution and sound.

Hi!
If you are considering a McIntosh integrated for your system I'd like to recommend you the MA 6600. I have one and is a great integrated. It has both 8 and 4 ohms outputs. There is one right now for $2800 here at Audiogon.
Dan

Jbltmp -

consider Octave from Germany. This integrated is a sonic match for Joseph Audio speakers.

All,
Great suggestions and much appreciated.
I'm trying to keep it simple with this system, going with an integrated and not considering tubed gear.
Some of the speakers I'm beginning to consider are a little inefficient and I may need 200 wpc, which raises the attraction of the Musical Fidelity and limits other options.
Davidantonio - good suggestion on the McIntosh MA6000 at 200 wpc vs the MA5200 at 100 wpc, but a wimpy consideration of mine is to try to keep the weight of the amp something at which I can move around by myself easily, and the 75 lb 6600 (vs 38 lbs for the MA5200) is pushing that limit. But if I do need 200 wpc (and decide to start working out and build up the strength :-) the 6600 would be a candidate. Just wondering why you went with the 6600 and not the 6700 receiver for another $500? You may not use the tuner much, and I probably wouldn't either, but the additional money seems worth it for nothing other than the potential resale value.