Well, thanks for all the advice and suggestions guys. I am sure there are a lot of amps waiting out there that may or may not be better than the discussed names here in this thread. And, of course, there are the factors of subjectivity, availability, effort and personality in the choices or the pursuit of these choices, making the options limited to a personal degree.
So, in the end, all round better sense prevailed and I decided to go ahead with my first choice of the new Trigon integrated amp (Exceed).
Some of the factors that weighed in on this choice were: A good brand name, proven models, adequately well powered (120W at 8 ohms and dual mono design), new model placed in the safe middle berth of the range, a 3 year support for a brand new piece, local and easily approachable support, an internal DAC (which will surely be better than my current Nuforce basic one) and a decent resale value.
However, the stronger driving factors in this decision were:
a) The elasticity of my initial budget plan was being stretched to a fracture point, sure to snap due to the load on it, if not due to the tension the accounting book was inflicting on my wife. . When the budget becomes 3.5 times the initial limit, eyebrows tend to raise. I had to heed the signs.
b) The person selling this brand, was someone I felt very comfortable dealing with: straightforward yet understanding, helpful, not pushy and knowledgeable. This was perhaps the strongest reason I chose Trigon (good pricing also).
So, I have booked it and am eagerly awaiting the amp. Hope it works out.
Wish me luck and thanks for all your help. I will keep you posted on how it works out for me.
