He did say maximum 2k, open to pre-used which would help. But yes without knowing what speakers he uses it’s about impossible to know what he needs. If OP doesn’t respond I suppose he figured it out maybe. Lots of good ideas have come up though!
Not in the 1st post but I now see it further down, prices can vary quite a lot depending on which country you are in compared to the country of origin though so just saying what item might fit . No idea where in the world OP is based and what the prices are there. $ could be any number of countries, U.S. Australia,Canada,Hong Kong, etc,etc.
Exactly right, seems like USD or pounds perhaps but that’s just a WAG.
Have a good day mate.
I have a Naim Uniti Atom and it’s a very nice little unit. it’s firmly above your price range though. But in addition to having very good sound quality, it is a joy to use. The volume knob is arguably the most lovely volume adjusting experience I’ve had. I use it to drive a pair of Quad 2912’s and it does a very nice job of it. Those are some hard working 40 watts in that unit.
However I’m really tempted to buy a Cambridge Audio EVO 150. it uses an nCore NC252 module as the output. And should sound really good, albeit VERY uncolored. And here’s the cool part, the little brother EVO 75 also uses the little brother NC122 module for equal sonic performance. CA sells refurbished units on eBay for cheap; the EVO75 is $1750 (within your budget!), and the EVO150 is $2375.
I have been using a Matrix Audio Mini-3pro as a streamer feeding an nCore based amp (based around a pair of NC250 mono modules), and it’s an outstandingly neutral and pleasant combo on the Quads. So for my needs, an EVO150 would be right up my alley. It’s nearly an all in one with two tiny boxes.
If your budget was higher, I’d STRONGLY recommend a Benchmark Audio AHB2 amp and a DAC3 combo with a ropieexl front end. But not an all in one, but close.
Sheldon