sweetest sounding ss integrated


Despite my efforts to talk him out of it, a friend of mine is downsizing and simplifying, getting out of tubed separates, and is looking for a ss, or possibly hybrid, integrated that leans towards the euphonic.

Price range: $1500 to $3500 new or used.

Other components: Cambridge 840C, B&W 703s.

Musical preferences: classical, particularly large scale.

Recommendations?
128x128twoleftears
I think there are a number of offerings from Musical Fidelity that would work really well with the B&W 703's. The A300 is one and I'd bet the 308 and A5 would be nice with them also
Here are some other names that occur to me (without having had the chance to audition most of them).

ss:
Ayre
Creek
Lavardin
LFD
McIntosh
Plinius
Sim Audio

hybrid (tubed pre-amp stage):
Cayin
Pathos
Unison

Like I say, he's going for euphonic, with good imaging and soundstaging.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Particular models?
Not much to offer here, except to say that the Sim amps I have heard seemed far from euphoric to me.
I have not hear them all but these come to mind:

Sugden
Red Wine 30.2
Lavardin
maybe a used rowland..not sure on the price of these
I've had a few int's over the years & in fact just downsized from a BAT amp & Pass pre a month ago to a Blue Circle CS. By far the best & most musical int. I've owned. I recently listened to the new Cayin hybrid & auditioned the MF int. series last year. In a 2nd system yrs. ago I had a MF X-A1 and before that a Creek. All the above pieces were pretty good. The only int. I had I didn't like was a Plinius 8200. Just not a good fit.