Tube amplifier upgrade suggestions welcome.


I currently have a Musical Fidelity m2si and some Tekton Lore speakers and would like to buy a power amplifier to upgrade my system.  I'd like to keep the m2si in the system as a preamp.  I'd like more clarity, bass, and dynamics in my setup.  I have up to $2K to spend and thought I'd try out a tube amp since my speakers are supposed to be very tube-friendly.

I have considered something like a Parasound A23+ or Rotel 1582 amplifier -- what are the equivalent tube amplifiers to these?  I'm in an 11' x 12' room with horrible acoustics but I've treated it with 8 GIK 244 bass traps and have added an SVS-SB1000 to fill in the low end which helped a ton.  How should I proceed from here?
128x128shawn3997
Ok, thanks guys!  I know very little about tube amps but I have super high efficiency speakers and I think I'd like tubes -- we'll see!  :D  I do believe the smartest thing for me to do is to go used and trust what you, the experts, say is a great buy so that's what I'll do. 

I'm still leaning towards just an amplifier rather than an integrated because it will give me a better upgrade path, so I'm considering either of the two on Audiogon posted above. Thanks to @lowrider57 for the help!

I'm not sure I can afford one of these until the next round of stimulus money comes.  But maybe I can.  Not sure yet.  If I don't get one of the ones listed now can I come back and ask about other tube amps that might show up here or on other sites?  
Of course you can keep this thread going. I'll second Jolida, aka Black Ice as a possible amp for you.

I recommend you message the seller of the RM-10 and make inquiries, he's the original owner.  Ask to see more pics. I expect this amp to sell quickly, they don't come up for sale very often.
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/rm10mk2.html

Will Vincent regularly posts his restored Dynaco's.


Thanks!  What would I be looking for in the pics?  I kinda know what to look for in a solid-state amp because my old Linn LK280 had major heat issues over it's lifetime, like the traces were coming off the PC board and caps were failing.  What do I look out for in a used tube amp?
shawn, the seller seems to have provided good CU pics of the amp. It’s very clean and he states it’s only 3 years old. Not much wear happens in that short amount of time except for tube life.

The questions I have are answered on the Music Reference website including:

Tube Complement:
2 Matched Pair 6BQ5/EL84;
2-12AX7

"Each unit is hand wired with point-to-point wiring."

EL84 is a very smooth, sweet sounding power tube. 12AX7’s are the input tubes and are widely used and not too expensive.
P to P wiring is preferred over using circuit boards.

I would ask how many hours are on the tubes, will they need replacing soon, is there a user manual, is there any transformer hum? (Some tube amps have a low-level hum that does not come through the speakers. It’s in their design). Ask if you can speak on the phone since it’s your first tube amp.
It’s a good price, probably because of the chip in the wood body. Definitely not a deal breaker.

I see your m2si has preamp outputs, so you're ok with just about any tube power amp.