Audiolab, Cambridge Audio, Marantz, Musical Fidelity, NAD and Rega – all the big guns are featured in our stereo amplifiers round-up

You know what they say: “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” All of these sub-£1000 amplifiers have exceptional talent and are ready for you to hear just what they can do

If your job is to be the driving force behind some project or other, you’re unlikely to make a success of it by taking a timid approach. So it is with the amplifier in a stereo system – as the driving force, it needs to make a bold statement about its identity.

That’s why this round-up of integrated amplifiers under £1000 is populated by established giants of the amplifier world, starting with the achingly affordable Cambridge Audio AXA35 (£299) and moving up in price to the £949 Rega Elex-r. If your budget lies within those parameters, then you’ll struggle to find hardware that betters the kit on offer here.

Should you find your funds will take you up to – rather than hold you under – the £1000 mark, then we’d point you in the direction of the Award-winning Cambridge Audio CXA81, our current Best amplifier £800-£1500. Its bold presentation, class-leading detail and expert way with dynamics shows up amplifiers costing hundreds of pounds more.

Finally, bear in mind the sources you intend to use for your system because, although most of the amps on these pages are equipped with a built-in phono stage for use with a record player, many eschew Bluetooth and adopt instead a more traditional, analogue-based approach in the quest for optimum sound quality.