Lush and Romantic Tube Amps


Hi All -

I am on a quest for a lush, warm and romantic tube amp. Ideally, it should be 75 watts and upwards. I’m in a large room and my speakers are 87.5 sensitivity and 8 ohm. The room is large. 

The system:

LTA preamp 

Innuous Zenith music server 

Merason Dac 1 

Cardas Clear cables 

 

Suggestions are welcomed. 
 

128x128bluethinker
Post removed 

OP-You have received many excellent amplifier recommendations above.  But +1 for what @rodman99999 says.  You can further refine the sound by rolling tubes.  Based on your objective, NOS Mullards and Telefunkens  would be an excellent starting point.  I prefer a lighter, more detailed sound, so I use Telefunkens and Amperex Bugle Boys.  Its fun to try different tubes and assess the change in sound too.  Good luck

Russbutton, agreed you can save a good chunk of money building the VTA amps yourself....and definitely learn a lot about tube amps in the process.

Rodman and papafrog, for me tube rolling has been the best part of owning a tube amp. I've tried and own 6 or 7 rectifier tubes, and several versions of output tubes until I settled on my current pairing. Unfortunately I have WAY too many signal tubes as I got obsessed with 12AU7 style tubes. I think I have 40 or 50 pairs of tubes, and have rolled half of them through my amp......the subtle (or not subtle) changes are a blast to fine tune a tube amps sound. What I learned along the way is that NOS rectifier and driver tubes are vastly superior to current production versions.

@papafrgog ​​​& @vthokie83-

      While I totally agree with your assessments, regarding rolling amp valves; I'll bet the OP could save a passel of $$ (not to mention: possible sensitivity/efficiency matching headaches), were he to roll some warmer ones into his LTA preamp.

       Especially: if he's satisfied with the SPLs and performance of his existing amp and speaker combo, aside from that longing for a cozier presentation.

                                          Happy listening!

     

What I learned along the way is that NOS rectifier and driver tubes are vastly superior to current production versions.

                                                  Fact!