question for Gallo Ref owners

A hi-end novice friend of mine is moving residences and for the first time is exploring improving his music system more seriously. I managed to do a convert, ...the more the merrier. Given his budget, I have advised him speakers between Gallo Ref and Zu Druid both of which are available here in HK. (he wants full range and dynamic capability) This is based on my own listening exp which were not extended by any means but were enough to convince me that both were extraoridnary in their own right, especially for their pricing levels.

The friend first visited Gallo, Apparently the dealer here (I was not present) drove them thru Naim amplification, I think it was an integrated plus another pwr amp to drive the bass drivers. While he loved it, he is hesistant to spend that much money (US$5-6000) on just amplification which we can all understand especially for someone who is first entering our world.

So the question is ...for Gallo Ref owners out there what integrated or pre-pwer combination of price tags of US$3000 or less would you recommend? What has worked well in your exp? Help me to help him, we need more audiophiles!