Hi Derick, so far my personal preference for driving the three ProAc speakers I own has been with a tube preamp/solid state amp combo. But I should say that I have never tried an all tube set up, and I am very curious about this idea.
There are so many great tube amps out there, but some of the ones I've considered are all over the spectrum such as the Wright Sound Mono 10s or WPA3.5s, Bruce Moore Dual 70, VAC Standard 105/105 or Avatar Super, etc...
I have heard ARC amps paired with ProAc speakers once. It was at the 2003 CES show at Alexis Park. A pair of ARC VTM200s were driving ProAc D80s. The sound was organic, and the speakers disappeared, but I thought some spark was missing from the music. It lacked some life. It really isn't fair to make concrete judges of equipment at shows like this, but it's my only experience with this combo.
Which combo were you thinking of getting?
Maybe something like an ARC LS7 mated to a McCormack DNA.5 could be a great place to start. Both pieces for about $1300-1400 total. With your budget maybe you could go to the DNA1 or try something else.
I think the key question is, what kind of sonic presentation are you currently getting with the Cary and what were you hoping to improve?
There are so many great tube amps out there, but some of the ones I've considered are all over the spectrum such as the Wright Sound Mono 10s or WPA3.5s, Bruce Moore Dual 70, VAC Standard 105/105 or Avatar Super, etc...
I have heard ARC amps paired with ProAc speakers once. It was at the 2003 CES show at Alexis Park. A pair of ARC VTM200s were driving ProAc D80s. The sound was organic, and the speakers disappeared, but I thought some spark was missing from the music. It lacked some life. It really isn't fair to make concrete judges of equipment at shows like this, but it's my only experience with this combo.
Which combo were you thinking of getting?
Maybe something like an ARC LS7 mated to a McCormack DNA.5 could be a great place to start. Both pieces for about $1300-1400 total. With your budget maybe you could go to the DNA1 or try something else.
I think the key question is, what kind of sonic presentation are you currently getting with the Cary and what were you hoping to improve?