Help me - am I thinking about this right? Do I really have a quality versus features tradeoff, at this price range does it make a difference, and what units should I go listen to?

I have a low-end audiophile system for music (separate from my home theater). My old Proton amp died beyond repair, and I am looking to spend between $300-500 to replace. I am trying to decide whether to go with an integrated amp (like Rotel RA-02) or with an AVR (like Denon DRA-395).

If I go with the AVR, my perfectly good Proton tuner becomes extraneous, plus I am limited in my selection to those with Phono capability. However, I would get the ability to record to more than one source (tape and CD-R) and more tuner presets. If I go with a decent integrated amp, I won't be any worse off than I was before, features-wise, but may get significantly better sound than with an AVR.

I don't need a lot of power since my Heybrook bookshelf speakers fill my relatively small living/dining room quite nicely.

At this price range, will I notice a significant improvement in performance of a good amp over a good AVR? What brands/models should I be researching?

Thanks in advance,

OP-OS