I have a few budget components that sound awesome. The first is the Dayton DTA100a digital integrated amp, I paid $59 for it on sale from $89 at Parts Express. I have it connected to an old Denon 1910 DVD player and Monitor Audio S1's. The sound is airy, transparent, dynamic with deep bass. It sounds like a high end system if not played too loud as the S1's aren't the most efficient. With a better source (like my 2 budget tube DAC/Pre's) the sound is spectacular for a budget amp.
My other budget pieces are my Class D Audio CDA 254 amp, Grant Fidelity DAC-11 tube Pre/DAC that I paid $325 for and my Maverick Audio tube DAC/Pre that I paid $220. Both units make great budget DAC's and good preamps. The Grant just needed a tube upgrade from 6922's to 6DJ8 vintage 1960 Telefunken or 1960 non A-frame Holland made Amperex. I am running the Grant with the CDA 254 amp (250 wpc at 4 ohms) which I bought used for $189 (it was a Kit but retails for about $500 pre-built) and my Magnepan MMG speakers ($550pr) with a Yamaha DVD S-1800 SACD player as a digital source except for SACD which I run analog (paid $79 new as a closeout off Amazon, it use to retail for $450) . You would be hard pressed to find a better sounding system for the cost of all the components. The Grant is smooth and liquid sounding with a rich midrange and good transparency. The CDA amp has a tube like quality and has a huge sound stage and a very black background.
As for the Maverick, it is not as good at the Grant and I needed to upgrade the stock op amps for $10 each along with a tube upgrade. It sounds very good as a DAC and Preamp and adds that tube richness. It rocks with the CDA amp and my Parasound A21 hooked up to a pair of PSB B6 speakers
