v7b9b13, with a really good post asking some of my favorite questions! Trying to make sense of it all:
It was a dramatically different sound. It was, for lack of a better word, tremendously more robust. Not loud, but large. Deeper bass. Rounder tone, everything had more weight and presence. Not in a distorted or in-your-face way, just, somehow... livelier. Bigger.
This happens a lot. Some components, actually I think the vast majority, offer up thin gruel, a skeletal, ghostly, not quite there sound where leading transients are hyped, along with the top end, probably because the average audiophile confuses etch and grain with detail. When what you really should want is called palpable presence, what Michael Fremer is talking about when he says "there's more there there". Its good you appreciate the livelier, bigger sound. This will serve you well.
Same by the way goes for not just amps but everything else. Synergistic Research in particular is known for superior weight and presence, yet while still being free from fatiguing grain and glare. SR is known for their high prices because they have been making some of the best in the world for so long now, and the best in the world costs a fortune. But because they have been making the best for so long there's a LOT of really good used SR out there for cheap. Earlier this year I bought what were 15 years ago $8k Element CTS speaker cables, some of the best in the world at the time. And still freaking good today, I am here to say. Only now, less than $2k. Their industry standard
In my book the sound you describe is exactly what you want to be looking for. It can be found, regardless of budget, because regardless of price there are always things that sound this way much more compared to everything else at whatever price level you are at.
I was actually surprised because the MA-5100 is a 45 watt amp, but it seemed to wake the Ohm Walsh Talls up more than the Rotel, which is (I think) 120 watts.
Its a well known fact that not all watts are created equal. Tube watts in particular tend to subjectively play as loud and with as much authority as twice as many solid state watts. You can dive down the rabbit hole of tech specs if you want, and if you dive deep and long enough even make sense of it all. Quite honestly having done all that, and years ago, this is hardly worth it. What works just as well and a whole lot faster is to just pay attention to comments and reviews and use those to winnow down what is worth auditioning.
I know the standard approach to stuff like this is to listen to everything and go with what your ears say, but I don't really have the budget
Pro tip: no one does! Here is where we separate the men from the boys. The boys will tell you what you said. Men see that as a waste of time and money.
You can't listen to everything. No one can. Its literally impossible!
What you can do though is narrow everything down to a few to several components in each category that fall within your budget.
Now this is where we really separate the men from the boys. What you need much more than anything else is a really nicely balanced and fully complete system. That means one or more source components, amp, speakers, and interconnect, speaker cables and power cords. You need all of these, regardless of how big or small your budget. Skimping on any one creates the weak link that brings the whole system down.
Do this and you will be shocked how fast an incredibly complex and daunting task becomes child's play: Take your budget, whatever it is. Divide it equally by all the components you need- source(s), amp, speakers, wire. That's 20-25% of your budget for each.
Unlike all the other advice you will get I have actually done this and more than once and know how well it works. It worked phenomenally well for the $1200 total cost system I put together for a relative as the $2500 system I did for a friend. Its what I have done over the years as my system has grown from about $5k to ten to twenty times that.
Budgeting like this forces you to narrow your choices down. It is however a guideline not a Commandment. Don't get hung up on it. Use it as a tool to save you from running like a hamster on the wheel, always running, never getting there.
