New to tubes

I is a nice piece but your speakers might be under powered with only 12wpc.
It might be enough but I would not take the risk of recommending it base only on company's reputation or features. IMO, Prima Luna might be a the sefer choice. However, contacting qualify dealer will most likely answer your questions or recommende other alternatives within your budget.

Thanks for starting this thread Bfrank. I was going to start one almost identical to it. I too have some Monitor Silvers, though mine are the 9i set, just taller and a little deeper on the freq response (30Hz-25k I believe is their range). I have been using them with a B&K ref20/Sunfire Theater Grand for 6 or 7 years now. But they are getting an upgrade and moving to greener pastures since I have a full HT set hooked to the Sunfire now.

I am only beginning my research, but I like the idea of tubes. I think it would be fun to have a voltmeter and bias tubes every 3 to 6 weeks. Call me a kook. I really like the idea of experimenting with multiple different tube brands and discover which sound I like best. I listen to a pretty eclectic mix of music myself. A lot of British rock, indie rock, some classic American rock, some classical, some jazz, some hip hop, a tiny bit of rap, even a touch of country (Lucinda Williams is a badass). I am not sure a tube setup will be the best setup for a rock n roller, but the more jazz I buy (Ellington, Davis, Bassie, Adderly and Mony are my favorites atm) the more I buy, lol.

I have looked at and read about integrateds, separates, SS pre with tube amp, tube pre with SS amp (which seems like a nice balance), and even a Tube integrated with pre-outs to a SS amp to Bi-wire my 9is. And this is all just for pre/amp solutions. I haven't even scratched the surface of a source unit yet. I still have to decide if SACD and DVD-A are worth putting money into (Modded Oppo?), or if I just want a great redbook player (leaning toward MF A5 if so).

So, I would love to hear from you on impressions of the Monitors through a tube setup. It would help me better prepare myself for what I want to look at next. And anyone else here that wants to make suggestions to a mostly rock listener (I would guess ~80%), I am all ears. Thanks.

Thats cool - Judging by how the MA's sound with the Denon (a bit warmer on the SS side of things), I am hoping they will sound brilliant with tubes... hoping :) I spoken to alot of people about the Silver series, and it's kind of a love/hate thing overall. I in particular love them, though I do hear what people are saying about them being strong or edgy in the high range. A high impedance tube amp would likely roll the top end off a bit, which might be just the trick - as soon as I decide on something I will let you know my experience.

With regard to the SET, I know the sensitivity rating on the MA's is borderline. I also know that slight tube amp breakup is much easier on the ears than the abrupt clipping of SS, so tube watts tend to sound 'louder'. I also know many of these high end mini SET amps sound alot louder than their ratings compared to some other tube amps. And lastly I also have the powered MA ASW210 sub paired with my 5i's - so I am thinking of running the tube amp to the speaker level inputs of the sub and then out to the 5i's, and set the sub crossover at 60-80hz - this might put a bit less of a load on a smaller tube amp.... although I have no idea what kind of impedance curve the amp will see with this setup... guess I just have to jump in and try it! :)

Most speaker-level inputs on subs provide a couple Kohms to convert high to low-level.This value doesn't affect the impedance that the amplifier sees.
You will probably be happier with chinese output tubes,as some of the russian are more forward in the top-end.
Between the PL1 and 2,I would suggest the PL2 with KT-88s.It will be stronger in the bass and the highs are preferrable to the 34s IMO/YMMV.

Hmm, this is all good stuff. Again, I am glad a found someone else looking to do what I am looking to do with effectively the same speaker. I agree, I think the Silvers are a remarkable little speaker, especially for the price I paid. In fact, at my old house, I didn't find them bright or harsh in the least. But they are just a little fatiguing now, and I want to rectify that. :D

I am now looking at a Cary Sli80, Jolida 1000, or a VAC Avatar, all of which are right in the same price range (Around 2K). I love the look of Mac gear, but I don't know a $4000 MA2275 could be twice as good as the units I am looking at, and ultimately I think I would be buying for aesthetics. On the SS side of things, I would consider a MF A5, Creek Destiny, Naim, Chord... the usual suspects.

I have heard nothing but great things about VAC and the Avatar, so it is hitting the top of the list right now. It supposedly deals very well with any kind of music, which is important to me, since I listen to almost everything and a great deal of what I listen to is rock. Anyone with knowledge or experience with any of the above that wants to continue giving advice/suggestions I am still all ears. And that includes suggestions on source, ICs, cables, etc. Thanks again!