Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

Facten, you just can't help yourself.
I said I was sorry if it wasn't prescient, but you have to be an a.. 

OK, we'll revisit the room treatments down the road...

I'm really starting to get to a point that I don't know which direction to go in.  After lots of reading posts and reviews, it seems like the "true tube experience" lies in SET set ups.  Then you get into the type of tube that has the characteristics that you are looking for.  Then you try to find what is in your price range (which is somewhat limiting in this case).  I wish I had 15-20K to drop on monoblocks, but we don't at this time.  

From what I have read, It seems like an 845 or well designed 300b are what I'm looking for in a SET set up.  I'm also considering Atma-Sphere's OTL s30 and the Audion kt120 SET.  Based on what I'm seeing, 300b's are great at midrange, but suffer at low and high end.  Audion apparently has fixed this issue with their new transformer.  The price on the 300b SE is possibly a marriage breaker :-)

Line Magnetic obviously makes the 218 and 518 models for the SET845.  The price seems right and so do the reviews on the gear.  I'm not sure how easy it is to deal with repairs/warranty issues here though?  I'm also not seeing many down sides to the 845 tube.  Possibly some one could enlighten me here? 

The negatives that people have expressed on the Atma-Sphere (which I don't know how well founded they are) are that there is either some noise that can be heard due to the amp or due to the amps ability to reveal it in the recording.  Also, it sounds like the tubes that are used are somewhat scarce and there are very few options to roll tubes.  In another thread, it seems like proper speaker matching is extremely important with this amp.  On the flip side, I have yet to find a negative about the company or the owner.  It sounds like they stand behind their product if there are issues that arise and also that their build quality is top notch.  This is also my wife's favorite amp based on the retro looks.  The fact that they are an American made company from my wife's home town is also a bonus.  

The Audion Kt120 SET is very intriguing.  There is a RAVE review of the product linked from the distributor's site.  I believe this product was only made for the American market.  My conundrum is that I'm not sure how the KT120 is going to sound as an SET?  The price and power output seem to be perfect, so this would be a great option if it's a good fit for the speaker choice.  The dealer I talked to tried to steer me towards the 300b set up, which is the more expensive option.  It sounded like he had my best interest when doing so, but I'm a tad skeptical.   

I'm not going to lie, researching everything is starting to wear on me.  I just want to sit back with the lights off and watch my tubes glow as I listen to vinyl.  Making the right choice is stressing me out more than it should, but this is probably the 3rd biggest investment behind house and car that we have made.  On top of it, we want guests to love it! 

Sorry to ramble on here, just don't really know where to turn at this point.  
6 days till RMAF.  Hopefully, I will have an eye opening experience that will make the decision easier.  

Addressing room acoustics ( before or after) is as important as what your choice in equipment will be to accent your room in sound and the bling you seek . The info in this thread is massive and the opinions are many. You are obviously hooked again . Go to the show and listen and listen ( gik will be there too) . Take a rough layout of your room . Let your ears and pocket shape your choices. Some may say bentley, you may perfer a Mercedes in the end. The one thing about this hobby is if you bought a 100k amp , some wont like it ..but do you ? Thats all that matters. 
The real question here is how many albums have you bought yet : ).
I can attest to small changes effecting a room . I took out a coffee table in mine the otherday and it wont be going back . I got a little leather cube  footstool/table 14"x14" lol

About your curtain, John.

I don't think that will work for you - the curtain will simply absorb all sound, and may make the room sound dead. In my experience, two under appreciated techniques can work wonders: wall texture is very useful (think bas bas bas relief), as are non-parallel walls. YMMD

I painted my room in textured cement block paint , (drywall on 6" thick timber frame), it created almost like a smooth 50 grit sandpaper( it has sand in it, or add it in ) . Then i repainted it with laytex . It looks cool and has a small pebble texture .. but gik changed the game in my med.room . I sent them pics and they helped alot .. bryan i think . I would be hesitant with curtains on  one side . Like i said before many companies can print on there panels . Anything you want , thats all you..if i had unlimited money the first call i would make is to a designer, studio eng. to design a room with proper acoustics.then an electrician.  So for me i would be seriously considering what and how your new setup and choices will look sound and interact with your b&b..
 thats why i would go room, electrical, spkrs, power ,tt
just me 
enjoy the show