@nasaman I’m glad to hear you found more happiness with tubes.
The Cayin A88T was a very good product, and Steve imported a lot of them. You can certainly do better, but you have to work a bit to ensure you don't just make a sideways move.
I agree with @freediver in that outside of output power on paper, the EL34 outclasses the bigger tubes, sonically.
For me, it’s easier to stick with an integrated tube amplifier, and an obviously more compact solution. I’d suggest finding an Air Tight ATM1, Jadis DA60 or DA88S, or VAC Auricle. While Air Tight calls the ATM1 a power amplifier, its level controls allow you to use it as an integrated provided you don’t mind switching cables to change from one source to another. The Jadis models sound about as good as you can find out there, and also allow you the flexibility to dial in the best sound for you by running ANY EL34 / 6CA7 / KT77 / 6550 / KT88 and maybe even the bigger tubes by simple plug and play. Finally, the VAC Auricle can come with a decent phono stage if you do analog, and don’t have a better external. I predict while you’ll need to have a bit of patience to find one of these, as they come up for sale less often than some other products, you’ll find any of these allow you to easily hear that you took a few steps up the ladder
The Cayin A88T was a very good product, and Steve imported a lot of them. You can certainly do better, but you have to work a bit to ensure you don't just make a sideways move.
I agree with @freediver in that outside of output power on paper, the EL34 outclasses the bigger tubes, sonically.
For me, it’s easier to stick with an integrated tube amplifier, and an obviously more compact solution. I’d suggest finding an Air Tight ATM1, Jadis DA60 or DA88S, or VAC Auricle. While Air Tight calls the ATM1 a power amplifier, its level controls allow you to use it as an integrated provided you don’t mind switching cables to change from one source to another. The Jadis models sound about as good as you can find out there, and also allow you the flexibility to dial in the best sound for you by running ANY EL34 / 6CA7 / KT77 / 6550 / KT88 and maybe even the bigger tubes by simple plug and play. Finally, the VAC Auricle can come with a decent phono stage if you do analog, and don’t have a better external. I predict while you’ll need to have a bit of patience to find one of these, as they come up for sale less often than some other products, you’ll find any of these allow you to easily hear that you took a few steps up the ladder