bullet-proof, great sounding Intrateds - used

I would pretty much concur with Viridian, although I'm not too sure you would have enough money left over for drugs, sex and gambling all together. You would probably have to leave one out.

At your price point, you could get a receiver or integrated from the mass market brand you prefer, even a new one with a warranty. If the drop in quality from your main rig is too much to bear, you could probably get a good deal on a used Arcam, NAD or Rotel. I think the Rotel is a little better built than the NAD. I would maybe lean towards the Rotel brand, but they all sound a little bit different. It's your own taste.

So I guess tubes are out :-)

thanks guys, I realize at this price level I can't expect much, but was hoping there might be an integrated that stands above the rest - though maybe a little aged.

I have a Sony STR-DA555es receiver I could use, but am wondering if there's a integrated with less feature, better sound. I've had NAD and Rotel gear and prefer Rotel. I also have my eye on Arcam - is it likely an Arcam will best Rotel? How about the Rega Brio or Mira integrated seem to be available used near this price range.

Let me know if any of these stand out, or should be avoided. Any others I should look into?

thanks again . . .

I'll make one other suggestion as to something to watch for on the used market. When I was once in the market for a small integrated, I auditioned the brands mentioned above: Arcam, NAD and Rotel. I also listened to a 50 watt Creek. To my ears, the Creek was much better than the others of comparable wattage. It was much more solid in bass. This may have been due to the fact that the Creek had good size caps and a higher current capacity than the others, so I might not be comparing apples to apples. But it was at the same price point so it seemed the better buy. I used it with small Linn speakers and it was a nice refined combo. I don't know what it would be like with Paradigms. I didn't mention the Creek as a possibility in my first post because I thought it would be beyond the price point wou're looking at. But I have seen some small used Creeks in the $300-$400 price range. Actually, I sold mine for $325.