Looking To Match A Tube Amp With A Pair Of Audio Note AN-K/Spe

What Atmasphere is saying that you might want the bit of extra power that pushpull delivers rather than the flea power of the common SET tubes.  What he has been very diplomatic about not mentioning is that he manufactures output transformerless (OTL) amps.  Atmasphere's OTL amps are also worth considering.  OTL amps are very lively, immediate and engaging.  Good ones deliver clarity and dynamics without being harsh or overly "brittle" sounding. 

Many OTL amps were not particularly stable and were prone to going bad, which in some cases, meant damage to the speakers.  But, this is NOT the reputation of Atmasphere amps.  They are quite reliable.

As with any amp, the basic tonal balance is a matter of taste, and to me, the Atmasphere amps are a touch on the lean side.  That might not be a problem with the AN-K, because, if anything, they tend toward being slightly too warm and rich in the upper bass.  In any case, if you have a chance, you should audition an OTL.  The liveliness of this kind of amp can be quite addictive.  I've heard one of their bigger amps with Audio Note speakers (I can't recall the model) and the combination sounded very good to my ears.  The only other caveat is that on several occasions, I've heard a bit of noise coming from speakers hooked up to Atmasphere amps, but in all these cases, the speakers being used were quite a bit more efficient than the AN-K model so they were more sensitive to noise issues.

Just to be clear since the K's are in a larger room (approx 30 x 12) you would prefer a push pull configuration.

Definitely! In a room like that I'd want 50-60 watts. Also you might consider a subwoofer system to break up standing waves in the room below 80Hz. To do this the subs have to be asymmetrically placed in the room so the standing waves are properly broken up- that's not something you can treat with bass traps or DSP room correction, although once the subs are in place and doing their job, those things can be helpful. 

The only other caveat is that on several occasions, I've heard a bit of noise coming from speakers hooked up to Atmasphere amps, but in all these cases, the speakers being used were quite a bit more efficient

@larryi 

If you've had high efficiency speakers you know how careful you have to be about setup to avoid noise! We have a number of customers using AvantGarde and other horns with no worries. For speakers like that we offer a gain reduction plug that replaces a tube in the voltage amplifier. thus reducing the gain of the amp and pesky noises that can manifest upstream from the amplifier.

I just got off the phone with Vu. Whoever recommended that thank you. A most informative conversation. Keep in mind this thread started with me looking for better punch in the midrange. What I failed to mention was that I've been running this rig with a REL T-7. Vu's first comment was that my sub was sucking out my midrange. This was a revelation to me. He then concurred that tubes were the only way to go for the K's. He however, is squarely in the SET camp and suggested Quests given my price range and need for a dedicated power amp. -Scott

Scott glad to hear you got to talk to Vu I find he's typically spot on and can diagnose problems over the phone really well as you learned. You're in good hands for sure I wish I had discovered his shop a lot earlier in my own audio journey.

@pesky_wabbit ANK is in fact no longer affiliated with AN UK that's in fact why they changed the name to ANK as they cannot use the Audio Note name any longer.

whatever you do try and compare before you buy, and do not commit to one topology before you begin trials. Try both . You will have a definite preference.