What's the best EL84 amp?

dhcod,

I like your description of a good EL84 amp--the sound is lively and "fun" and they can be a bit "rough around the edges."  Have you heard a good 6L6 or KT66 amp?  These tube types have a slightly richer sound and are often a bit less rough sounding than the EL84 tube.  

I should try one. Those are two tubes I have not listened to, not counting a Quad amp I borrowed for a day.

@larryi I have relatively efficient speakers (Altec Model 19's), but feel the large woofers still benefit from moderate to high powered tube amps.  What 6L6 based amps do you recommend, assuming a min. of 40 wpc?

The 6L6 amps I liked were old, vintage, RCA and Northern Electric amp, and the crazy expensive Western Electric 124 amps (they run 6L6 or the 350B tube).I have heard a number of custom built amps that use this tube.  The similar sounding KT66 is used in amps made by Synthesis Audio, an Italian company.  I really like their A40 integrated amp (2 output tubes per channel, 40 wpc) and their 100 watter the A100 (4 tubes per channel).

Just to update in case anyone is interested. I got and had rebuilt a Fisher SA-100 which is the best sounding EL-84 I've heard out of all of the ones I've had. Simply, it has everything all the best ones have, near SET delicacy, but also BASS! I tried a Luxman vintage OTL and that sounds awesome but a little thin.... needs a preamp with tone controls.