If you look at the Ares, go for the Magnum as the sound is more articulate across the spectrum. The regular one is a bit more rounded even with better tubes.
A step up on the Ares is the Modwright PH9.0 or PH9.0X, which I along a number of other users have talked about very much on these forums. Enter that model in the forum search bar and look at the threads that pop up. It’s definitely a giant killer, and I only replaced it with units that retailed over $13K.