Tube amps under $7500

@hickamore 

i am an ARC fan all the way. I started about 6 years ago with a pair of Classic 120 monoblocks. They replaced a pair of bridged Parasound HCA 2200ii. I also bought an HCA 3500 to try as well and sold all the Parasound amps. I later went to the REF 150 and then decided I wanted simple and got a GSi 75.  It was a fantastic integrated but was not enough for my Wilson Sophia. The bass would cut out at high volumes. I went back to separates and got a REF 75SE. Boy did the Sophias love that amp!  Never strained and so sweet sounding.  I highly encourage you to stick to the plan for a tube amp.  I tried some Wilson Alexia 1 last year and took the REF 75 SE with me to get the speakers.  The man had a brand new McIntosh 450wpc amp, forget the model #. We both like the REF 75 more and the output was the same!  I don’t know what it is about ARC wattage but with the REF 75’s power supply, you are set. The GSi 75 doesn’t have the same power supply and I would confirm with ARC about the VT80 SE before getting one.  The bias procedure on the REF 75s is super easy as you do it from the faceplate.  The 150s suck as you have to remove the cover and do on the board. REF 75s will always sell so as long as you get one at a fair price you have no worries.  Good luck!

@dhite71 

It may have been a MC462 Solid State Amplifier. I would think it is because it is solid state vs tubes. I am constantly surprised at how much solid state power you need to perform similarly to tube amps. I am also an ARC fan. 

I understood that you were looking for an amp on the warm side.  It is quite hard to guess what that means, as everyone has a different idea of just-the-right-amount of anything.  To me, Audio Research is decidedly on the cool, bright, and lean side of the spectrum of tube gear.  I respect the company for being consistent with its house sound, but, it is not the sound I personally favor.  I suggest that you listen to a few different amps and tell us which you liked or disliked, and why so, then perhaps it will help others make recommendations consistent with what you are looking for.

@larryi Indeed I would like to see how much a tube amp enhances the warmth, bloom, decay of those same qualities present in preamps. By this I mean something more to the Cary side (if they still made amps) than the ARC side. ALTHOUGH, I have been advised that over time, the ARC presentation will convince just about any ears that they have landed in the right spot. Another bit of advice has been that with my particular speakers (4 ohm with impedance dips in the bass), a high-current SS amp with a tube-like presentation (Coda S5.5, for example) is likely the best match. Also Aric maintains that his push-pull amp can drive Legacys, and many say ARC will drive anything. Since I'm not pulling the trigger before feeling confident that anarchy is not our national future, I hope to audition all serious candidates & am willing to travel to do so. And I realize that sometimes our suspicions or expectations can be overturned by experience. So I will be keeping an open mind.

+1 @hickamore 

But now you’ve got me cross-walking two separate lists: 

1) Countries with 100-120 volts /60 hz; and

2) Countries in the “Full Democracy” category of the Economist’s annual Democracy Index.

Alas, as of 2023, it’s just Canada, Australia, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and Costa Rica.  If only we could get Ireland off that damn 230 volt grid!