Good Suggestions for Tube Amps under 6k

My first recommendation would be the Audio Research I-50. Extremely musical and detailed. Gets everything right. Especially engaging. It is right on your budget. The really good thing about this is that it is competitive in the $10K integrated market.

If you can get into the $10K market via buying used, I highly recommend it. The $10K market offers strikingly better performance than the $5K market. I highly recommend listening to Pass. They have the fast response of solid state, with great rhythm and pace (although definitely not at the level of the Audio Research) making them really impressive.

There is also Luxman… I will admit to having high hopes for them and have been very disappointed at the trebly detail and poor midrange… the sound has not moved me at all. I have listened to their top level amp and a couple of integrated including the $10K integrated… to me, very disappointing. But that is me. I have been at this for fifty years and superficial flash will not get me.

What speakers will the amp be paired with?

@gregjacob 

I could possibly contribute some meaningful amplifier suggestions. As has been asked, what speakers, listening room size and sonic/ musical characteristics do you seek and prioritize? More information can yield better responses.

Charles

I currently have:  

Primaluna EVO 400 integrated

Lampizator Atlantic 3 DAC

Daedalus custom-made speakers

For those unfamiliar, Daedalus would be in the sonic personality range of Harbeth, et al.  Fabulous for vocal, wonderful wood tones, transparency, and clarity.

Although I could live with the Primaluna (about 5k), I am exploring other alternatives.  That's the gist of it.

@gregjacob

I am familiar with the Daedalus speakers, very good quality. You have a highly regarded DAC as well. Your speakers are pretty high sensitivity and easy to drive. Thus, you don’t need a ton of power to drive them properly. You can focus on the quality of the amplifier.

Given the caliber of your audio system, I’d recommend a high quality pure class A tube circuit. For example,

Audio Hungary Qualiton integrated amplifiers.

Audio Note OTO,or SOROS these are available as push-pull and single ended.

Rogers High Fidelity 65v2, they have other models as well.

these fit within your stated budget and are all high-quality/well engineered tube class A “integrated “ amplifiers. I believe they would sound splendid with your current system.

Charles