In that price range, you might check out the Jolida line....
http://www.jolida.com/index.php?p=products&category=2
You can find a good deal on a used model. 
Good Recco. At least these products are serviced and represented here in the USA. S&G Custom Sound in Douglaston Queens sells and is the service rep in the US. We had a Jolida FX-10 [10W /ch] in for demo and it sounded great with Omega speakers. At $450 retail it is a no brainer but time will tell. The owner is Musician as well. However with the US manfs offering such quality products check out Nightshade, Dodd, CJ, Audio Research, etc.
The only inviting part of the Chinese gear IMO is price. I have owned numerous Chinese products and to date have had issues with the customer service, poor parts quality, inferior designs [ fire hazards] and failure. Buyer beware. If you must use AMEX for the extra warranty you WILL need it. Jolida may be the exception.
charles