Integrated Amp Bargains with good balanced sound?

Thanks Amondrool.
I came to the same conclusion by reading various info online. With my newfound GooGle-wisdom here is what I think:

It appears to me the correct answer for me: ROTEL RQ-970BX (under $200.00) better than most integrateds.

Methink: In a last 15 years none or almost none of the Hi-Fi manufacturers cared about Turn Table users. TT users comprise a very small niche. Therefore absolute majority of integrated Phono stages don't worth shit even if Int-Amp is worth a lot.
I am not saying one cannot get lucky and buy some esoteric Amp with a decent Phono stage ,but I will take a safe road and invest in separate Phono stage at this point in a game.

Go4Vinyl I read horrible professional review of Denon PMA2000
It was recognized as great amp with dual mono design, but the reviewer stated that if "one is looking for Phono stage, you might just forget about this Denon" It is throw away built-in phono stage built on components shared by a range of Japanese manufacturers.
So that review eliminated Denon for me, unless I can use it with separate Phono-Stage. The question is what input on Denon to go through from the Phono?

Hi Dkzzzz:

The outboard phono stage would go through any other aux line input on your amplifier. The input is no different than the one used by a tape deck or cd player.

Regards,

Rich

I looked at a few (20) AMPs and I stil have questions:

1. Should I care about power outlets integrated in a back panel of the Amp? I like the idea of cleaner current.

2. Should I stay with speaker cable clipping or should I switch to banana clips or RCA plugs? Most Amps don't have clips on the back panel but rather RCA jacks (don't like RCA)
I lean towards staying with clips what you say? Any good reasons?

Thank you much.

1. No, you shouldn't worry about the power outlets. They're sometimes a convenience but shouldn't be a factor in your decision.
2. Most of the amps that have been recommended will have speaker 'binding posts,' not spring clips. You'll find spring clips on less inexpensive gear and they don't provide a very secure connection or much contact area. Binding posts generally offer the possibility of using anywhere from two to five connection methods, including bare wire, banana plugs, spade connectors and pins. Any of those are an acceptable way to connect the speaker wire as long as the fit is good.

RCA connectors aren't used for speaker connections on amps like this. The RCA connectors you see on the back of the amp are inputs for sources like a CD player or tuner.

If you click here and look at the picture of the back of the Onkyo A9555 I recommended you can see the RCA inputs at the lower left and the binding posts for two pair of speakers near the center. Those particular binding posts work best with either bare wire or banana plugs (by prying out the little plastic protective caps in the ends of the posts.)