In search of the right SS integrated amp


My audiophile friend Greg brought over new Accuphase pre and power amps, successfully demonstrated that my GamuT D3 / D200 Mark III (which have served well) are no longer state of the art. But in my high-rise apartment I’m spatially challenged; what I’d really like is a top quality integrated, 2 channel, solid state (tubes/valves are intimidating), with at least 2 pairs balanced (XLR) inputs (for phono stage, CDP). Nowadays, happily, such exist. Here are some I’ve read about:

TOP TIER (no obvious drawbacks)
-- Boulder 865 – generally admired, beautiful square wave (how often do I listen to square waves?)
-- Chord CPM 3350 – heard Chord system once, much impressed; M. Fremer critical, but of older model
-- Pass Labs INT-150 – right features; high praise, low price; can it really sound as good as the others?

SECOND TIER (sound reportedly all right, but with superfluous features like tone controls)
-- Accuphase E550 – should sound about as good as Greg’s two boxes
-- Burmester 032 – gorgeous cosmetics, but more expensive than others; maybe not worth it?

THIRD TIER (technically proficient, but found emotionally lacking by reviewers)
-- GamuT Si 100 – descendant of my present amplifiers
-- Jeff Rowland Continuum 500 – reviewer may have used unsuitable speakers

Grateful for any comparisons, comments, recommendations.
nwickend
Nwickend, on October 1st I might have the opportunity of listening to the Continuum 500 and the Boulder 865 in the same room/system. This will be in Denver at Soundings Hifi. I will post my observations if the A/B comparison materializes. If the house sound of the 2 companies is any indication, I suspect the Rowland may come up ahead in musicality, harmonic coherence, and microdynamics, while the Boulder is likely to come up ahead in staging and instrument placement. We'll see if my hunch proves anything more than the figment of my imagination.

Guido
Hooper knows what he's talking about. I have owned my CODA CSi for about 2 years now, and it lacks for nothing in any department. Search this product and see my previous comments. If you are interested, Call Doug Dale at the factory and start a dialog directly with him. He is one of the design engineers and is a straight shooter.
Nwickend:

CODA's latest version of the CSi does indeed have balanced inputs. A phone call to the CODA factory will be an inexpensive way to answer your technical questions in the most direct way possible. Sonically, this unit is very, very impressive.
i am not sure, but the best integrated i have heard so far would be a musical fidelity a5.5.

i am not sure how it would stack up against some of the ones mentioned in this thread, which are obviously a great deal more expensive.

good luck in your search!