Lush and Romantic Tube Amps

@bluethinker @kota1 i recommend stay away the bob carver company. a while back they got buted out bad with the  275 claiming to be 75WPC with 15W output transformers. ASR, AK and klipsch forum all had covered this and discussed it at length. 

that imediately came to mind after reading a few posts. 

illl put some thought into giving u a good answer. 

happy listening and all the best, buddy. 

ceylon

Ozzy--the Rennaissance amps use 300B tubes, a lot different sound than the PA10/100s..

+rcprince

If you had a sensitive speaker like a Spatial audio , or Klipsch Lascala 1 watt would be plenty at over 104 db efficiency.

Having 40 years in Audio I speak by experience.

by far the best value as well as quality are the hand built SET 300 B amplifiers 

by Vacuum tube Engineer,designer Radu Tarta . You would have to spend 3-4x 

as much $$ money to = his build quality ,and sound ,His Great amps start around $6k  using the Excellent Lundahl transformers,and chokes ,and side panels  and top plates he has custom built to any standard ,and powder coated  with beautiful solid wood front and side panels. 

Cary SLI-80 Signature. It doesn’t get much more lush than that, if that’s yer thing….

As for VAC, the only one I’ve heard was the PA 100/100. It was about as far from tubey as you could get. I’ve owned many SS amps that sounded more like a tube amp than that one.

Space-tech. Have one custom-made just for you. Amazingly affordable and amazingly rich warm sound

Bluethinker--yes, I would be a little concerned about an older CJ amplifier.  I'd probably send the unit to CJ if I got it used to have them check it out,

Another possibility is VAC.  You might like their older amps like the Renaissance 70/70.  VAC is very good about supporting their older amps, if you get one used.

@bluethinker

If you type Carver into the search bar of the Virtual System area you will find many members with systems posted using his designs you can contact via DM. You can also see many of the professional reviews that are linked to on the Carver website.

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/9107

OP and @facten

I’ve heard the Leben extensively with 86dB Harbeths and it’s a great match.

The classic (little 'c') Conrad Johnson Premiere 12s and similar.

@bluethinker

I have been using Carver gear for about 20 years, both his preamp from Sunfire and a Carver amp that uses trickle down tech from the legendary Lightstar design. Bob has a LOT of patents so when you hear one of his designs I find it unique. The preamp I use is solid state yet has a tube like sound signature similar to a Jeff Rowland tube design. The amp I use is a 5 channel amp at 80 watts a channel. It uses a tracking downconverter that can push those watts wherever they are needed for brief periods. Then look at the in home audition policy:

Enjoy a Carver Amplifier Challenge in your home with your speakers. If you are not in love with our product, we will refund your full purchase price with no restocking fees. Compare our performance to others. Hear the performance your speakers are truly capable of.

With the Carver Amplifier Challenge, the customer always wins

@kota1 - thank you for this suggestion. I’ve seen Bob Carver’s name on this board before, but as I’m new to audio equipment, have no familiarity with his equipment. That 85 watt amp looks extremely compelling. I have been on the fence, nearly ready to plunk down the money for the Conrad Johnson classic 120se, possibly with EL34 tubes, but the price tag is substantial and I’m a little afraid the sound signature will be similar to the CJ art 150 which I tried in my home already. From your experience, how would you describe Carver’s equipment sound signature? I did listen to a few online tidbits I could find and frankly what I heard I liked - a lot. You get the sense of warmth, which is what I’m after. 
 

@jasonbourne71 - thank you for the suggestion. I will look into them a a bit more. 
 

@rodman99999 - thanks for the wisdom on the NOS tubes! 
 

@rcprince - I’ve heard from several posters that the older CJ amps are what I should be looking for. My apprehension has been around maintenance of an older unit. I know CJ still maintains older equipment, but packing and shipping gives me pause. Would you have similar concerns? Or do you feel otherwise? 
 

@dhcod - I’ve read about Leben, but am afraid that amp might not be powerful enough. I also have a bit of a live affair with my LTA preamp! 
 

@carlsbad2 - I’ve read about Decware and all the positive feedback. However, I’ve found, in this space, I really need a lot of watts. The Qualiton / Audio Hungary that I own currently is great with 100 watts. I am really looking for an amp with a similar sound signature, preferably with a USA-based manufacturer. 

@facten

+1, anemic choices

The Carver RAM 285 I linked to above:

Power test at 1Kz produce 129w @ .25% THD+N.

85 WPC 18 Hz to 20 KHz minus 1 dB at less than less than .5% THD+N.

"Leben CS600"  "Decware ZMA"   - 32wpc and 40wpc amps for 87db speakers and a large room?

The Decware ZMA with it's huge power supply would be a good choice for those speakers.  Closest you can get in a push-pull to the SET sound.

JErry

      The use of NOS British* tubes for input and driver/splitter positions, warmed things up considerably, for every customer that asked, back in the day.

       Amp's manufacturer didn't matter.

       Nor: whether octal or nine pin miniature tubes.

       The carbon composition resistors, used widely in older tube amps, gave them a warmer signature.    Even SS gear could be warmed up, by swapping those in for cleaner resistors.

                               *ie: Mullard, Genelex or Brimar

        Brent Jessee's site has a wealth of information, as regards the presentation of the valves available in the NOS market.

                                   http://audiotubes.com/

         You could warm up your existing system's presentation, by installing British valves in your LTA preamp, whatever your current amp.

One of the early Conrad Johnson Premier amplifiers, like the Premier 3, would be a good fit (I know you tried the ART, this is much different).  Or a pair of older Jadis JA 80s using KT88 or EL34 tubes.

A nicely restored pair of Dynaco MkIII's. I have 'em!

Leben CS600. It's an integrated so you can sell the LTA. Very Romantic but really sounds right.

@bluethinker 

You have a very nice system but your description is vague. I suppose by lush and romantic what you mean is a classic, old school model. With speaker sensitivity you list I would recommend the Bob Carver RAM 285:

https://www.bobcarvercorp.com/ram-285