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Tube Power Amp Suggestions

I have been looking for a tube power amp. Ideally I want to have about 40 to 70 watts output power, with sound qualities as close to a delicate SET amp as possible, with lots of details, fast, good tone (a tiny bit on the warm side) and imaging, yet with good bass and dynamic. Budget is about 10,000. Second-hand is fine. I know I am asking really too much and will probably get negative response because of this. I just want to get the best within my budget.    
      
My initial considerations are EAR 890 or EAR 861. What do you think?      
    
I heard people saying that push-pull amp can be better than SET if it is implemented well, but push-pull is more difficult to make than a SET amp.    
      
My speakers are measured 91db sensitivity, but it needs power to perform well. I have tried both a SET 300B XLS output at 13W and a push-pull EL34 at about 35W. My impression is as follow:            
      
- SET 300B XLS output at 13W: more delicate and smooth, better resolution and density, lack bass and dynamic       
- Push-pull EL34 at 35W: much more bass and dynamic, sounds a bit coarse, less 3-dimensional and delicate     
    
Thank you in advance for your input. 
   

bigdish
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Octave is a very good sounding push pull tube amplifier as is the Zesto,I've heard both. Generally speaking PP and SET are two different pathways to excellent sound in your home.  I own both types of amplifiers.  A listener has to determine what it is they are trying to achieve.  For my taste the SET is my favorite amplifier yet for others a PP would be their preference. The key is,  know what you "really "want. 
Charles 
labpro's avatar
labpro
88 posts
 
This may not be a very popular response to the SET vs. 91db speaker question, but after trying many SET amps on my 94db Coincident speakers, and not finding the "SET magic" that I wanted, I bought a more efficient (96db Cessaro Chopin) speaker and kept my 8W SET mono's. Amazing what a 2db difference can make.  
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
This may not be a very popular response to the SET vs. 91db speaker question, but after trying many SET amps on my 94db Coincident speakers, and not finding the "SET magic" that I wanted, I bought a more efficient (96db Cessaro Chopin) speaker and kept my 8W SET mono's. Amazing what a 2db difference can make.
Matching speaker with amp, excellent!!!  Replacing Coincident with  Cessaro Chopin is NOT a fair fight :-)
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,379 posts
 
If you consider @atmasphere 's kind comment that generously points away from his own products to something that fits your speakers better, perhaps Pass or First Watt single ended solid state like the old Aleph series would be a great fit. 
Another ss amp that many might laugh at my suggestion but has both current and voltage outputs is the Sunfire by Bob Carver. Punches above it's price, especially nowadays, and meets the technical requirements mentioned above.
Personally, I'd still bet that a 40-50w 845, 211 etc. might hold up fine. Cheers,
Spencer
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
There are certainly some very good options out there in that price range. I kind of avoid the ones that are mass marketed, the big names. So here are a few smaller companies. 

The deHavilland 50A. This is a forty watt mono block amplifier that uses KT 88's and runs in, and this is huge, they deliver those 40 watts in triode mode. Made in Washington state. Point to point wiring. 
http://www.dehavillandhifi.com

You might be interested in these beauties as well. The Melody PM 845. They use the wonderful sounding 845 tube, run in class A and put out 70 watts per channel. They come in from Taiwan.
http://angelcityaudio.com/products/melody-valve-hifi/

The Zesto Audio Bio Stereo amplifier. 40 really powerful watts, from the KT88's. Made in California. Class A. Good company.

http://www.zestoaudio.com/bia-120-poweramp/



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