I want to try tubes, need suggestions

Leben integrated amps can sometimes be had at or near your price limit. Build quality and sound are both first rate!

What speakers? Absent that, hard to make a specific recommendation. For example, the Leben, just recommended, will be fantastic or woefully underpowered or impedance mismatched - the speakers are the starting point for finding the right amp IMHO. Is your price range either new or used?

garyjames thank you for taking the time to respond, they are both very good but I bet you are right.

The Soro has an elusive quality, I could never tell if it was warm or neutral - just musical, the Stingray had a more indentifiable coloration and a bit constrained. This is the impression I got but always wondered what others thought.

Both are more powerful than their ratings would suggest.

thanks again!

Phil