Al, I certainly agree with sushi in regard to tube amps. To the extent that in some circumstances there is a "tube sound", that sound is less accurate. Apparently you're talking about a stereo-only system, but unless you're pretty sure that you're not going to want multi-channel in the future you should consider one of the fine home theater receivers which are available in that price area. Even if you're certain about stereo-only, there's no good reason to restrict your choices to those integrated amps. They have no better sound than high quality stereo receivers such as the Denon DRA-395 which you can find for about $250(or the HK you mentioned). Also, the AM-FM tuner included shouldn't be ignored.
