Tube Amp Suggestions

May I make an alternate suggestion, I use the Aleph 3 and find it hard to beat as a power amp into my admittedly sensitive Living Voice Avatar speakers. why not keep it and go for a valve pre. I recently changed to a Conrad J Premier17 and could'nt be happier. Wide detailed fatigue free soundstage etc. I am a great believer in the Valve pre, SS power route. I hope that is of help, probably just confused you more.

'Supposedly, there exist a few 'triode' (tube) amplifier designs of exceptional transparency. Usually their power output is below 20W and insufficient to drive most speakers'... most important are low output impedance (<0.4 ohm) and low distortion (<0.1%) of the amplifier over a 5 Hz to 50 kHz frequency range' (Seigfried Linkwitz).

The best I could find among the popular tube brands is 1-2% THD, and only over 20hz-20khz range. 'Rogue' looked better than any of those. But I am not sure the compromise in transparency (low distoriton) is worth the 'bloom' of tubes when you need more than 20w to power your mid and upper range drivers. (always use ss for woofers)

The ATI line of solid state amps are <0.005THD, for instance. As are the vintage Hafler DH-200/220, the Muse 160 (and Bry$ston, and the very $$ Jeff Rowland) solid state amps.

If you just want a 'warm', 'soft' sound, put cotton in your ears, or hang a blanket over your speakers. It will accomplish the same thing. Really.

In the 2 to 3k used price range you have your pick of all but the best tube amplifiers and even some quality single ended triode moderate powered amps suitable for your speakers (like the Cary 805b).

Cary 805B monoblocks are close to 3k used and give you 50 single ended class A watts..very good amplifiers..

McIntosh MC240 (40 watts), mc275...work well with a 4 ohm load due to the McTransformers..nice sounding amps that will retain their value if you do not overpay. 1000 to 2500 used

Bruce Moore Dual 70 tube amp...I only remember this guy makes really good stuff is the reputation.

Air Tight ATM2..very good amps

Canary CA300 monoblocks..think this is a push/pull class A 300b amp that makes good power...

BAT VK60 about 2000 very good amp

Audio Research VT60, VS55

Melos Audio MAT180

Lots of choices; there were more. There are examples of all of these for sale as of this writing. A quality 845 single ended amp would make about 22 to 25 watts depending on design; that would be sufficient for your speakers as long as they do not present a low resistance that varies a lot.

The Cary 805 for instance, has a limited frequency range (only 20hz-20khz) and they do not even mention distortion in their specs. That cannot be good.

For inaudible distortion you want a min of <0.1% THD, IMD, over a 5hz-50khz frequency range. As well as Outut Impedance <0.4 ohms.

The Canary is more like it, but notice: 8w

McIntash models show <.5% THD but only over a 20hz-20khz

No mention in your post, but Rouge also has decent specs and ample power. That is, a 40w tube amp is approx equivelent to a 100w solid state.

It is not that easy to find distortion free amps, especially tubed units. By far the majority of mfgrs do not come close.

No wonder the myth is perpetuated that specs do not matter. So few meet minimum requirements for inaudible distortion. Insteade they glorify their distortion qualites in poetic terms and sell the dream preached by the 'connoisseurs of colorations' magazine reviewers.

I wonder how many mfgrs will advertise in a magazine that gives their products unfavorable reviews. It does not sound like good business.

I wonder how many reviewers will remain employed when mfgrs begin pulling their advertising based on their unfavorable reviews.

While the Canary CA-300 is an 8 wpc SET, their CA-301SE is a 22 wpc push-pull amp that has very attractive specs and build quality. It may be available used within the original poster's budget, but Canary 300B p-p amps seem to be rare on the used market. I can understand why - after my experience with them I'm very enthusiastic about the company and their products.