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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
niodari's avatar
niodari
300 posts
 
You don't really need that much tube power to drive 91db speakers.
50 watts in tube give almost double compared to the solid state.  I bought a 50 watts (in push-pull) Manley Stingray about 16 years or so
(the cost then was far below 10k). It drives excellent 86db Thiel 3.6 (with the recommended minimal amp power of 100 watts). I like this combination, the amp is quite good. Though  I can hear more distortion on it (compared to a solid state McIntosh, for instance), the sound is really  sweet  encouraging. It is quite compact and nicely looking. Only one year ago it needed some maintenance.  
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
@bigdish if you really plan to keep with those speakers, the problem you are up against is that the speakers are designed for an amp than can act like a voltage source. Most of the amps suggest so far (including ours) are Power sources.

The difference will be on this speaker that a power source will play the woofer section 3 db down from where the designer intended.

There is a reason people are suggesting amps that behave as Power Sources though- in tube amps in particular, they tend to sound more natural.

More here:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hello Ralph, 
As always your comments are technically sound  and logical.  The problem is just as you acknowledged.  The old outdated technology  (tubes) just refuse to fade away.  For many listeners they just as you say sound more natural and thus more emotionally involving.  That's very difficult to ignore 😊.
Charles 
rspyder
98 posts
 
After trying EAR, CAT and ARC I landed on Octave.  The MRE 220's with SBB.  They are stellar and everyone in our local audio group rave about them.
hddg's avatar
hddg
123 posts
 
hi bigdish,
70 watts seem a bit too much for your drivers, but higher wattage and power reserv is always good in any case, whether to escape distortion level or to provide for future speaker upgrades. 
So, if you insist with 70W, I do not hesitate a second to very highly recommend the Coincident Dragon MkII. I own them and have paired them with several speakers, the results are all just great, if not absolutely wonderful. They are 211 tubes push pull, DHT mono amps, have tremendous power, deep powerful bass, full resolution, dynamic, notes are to die for. Really a winner. But please note: use the right preamp (good quality SS with high current capacity and low output impedance). Use the WE211 tubes from Psvane, they make a big difference, and finally and not the least, they need lots of break-in. If you're not happy with these, i'll stop making these notes...!
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