Tube amps under $7500

@larryi Indeed I would like to see how much a tube amp enhances the warmth, bloom, decay of those same qualities present in preamps. By this I mean something more to the Cary side (if they still made amps) than the ARC side. ALTHOUGH, I have been advised that over time, the ARC presentation will convince just about any ears that they have landed in the right spot. Another bit of advice has been that with my particular speakers (4 ohm with impedance dips in the bass), a high-current SS amp with a tube-like presentation (Coda S5.5, for example) is likely the best match. Also Aric maintains that his push-pull amp can drive Legacys, and many say ARC will drive anything. Since I'm not pulling the trigger before feeling confident that anarchy is not our national future, I hope to audition all serious candidates & am willing to travel to do so. And I realize that sometimes our suspicions or expectations can be overturned by experience. So I will be keeping an open mind.

+1 @hickamore 

But now you’ve got me cross-walking two separate lists: 

1) Countries with 100-120 volts /60 hz; and

2) Countries in the “Full Democracy” category of the Economist’s annual Democracy Index.

Alas, as of 2023, it’s just Canada, Australia, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and Costa Rica.  If only we could get Ireland off that damn 230 volt grid!

Unlike the old days when solid state amps sounded grainy or harsh, modern amps are quite smooth and not at all harsh.  There are brands, like Accuphase and Rowland that are also on the warmish side.  But, what good tube amps deliver (meaning not all tube amps) is great dynamics at low volume (micro dynamics) and lively sound when playing at modest volumes (one tends to want to crank up solid state systems to get the juices flowing), a sound that grabs your attention so you want to listen more carefully instead of allowing your attention to wander, a sound that seems to envelop you more than solid state, and a more relaxed (not as edgy) sound while still being lively. 

The downside to tubes has to do with compatibility with speakers, bass control and depth that is not in the same league with solid state gear, inability to peel  paint with high volume (unless one buys super power tube amps, many of which sound harsh and brittle), and putting up with some maintenance issues or problems with noise or channel imbalance.  

I know that the Synthesis Audio A40 does not meet your criteria, but, if you have a chance, audition that amp to hear what a good, medium-powered tube amp can do.  That would be, in my opinion, a very tough to beat benchmark.  If you can do without balance connection, listen to what Audio Note Oto or Soro can do.  Other brands with, to me, good sound include Allnic, Air Tight, and Weytech.  Certain old Cary amps were also good, but their warmer sounding models sound a touch murky and sluggish (still very good at reasonable, used prices).

@larryi 

The Air Tight stuff is so beautiful, and so expensive….I love Synthesis, but I think you already noted that they are almost exclusively integrated amps.  For Synthesis, the only possibility given OP budget might be the Roma 98dc mono amps, which also have balanced xlr input.  Those would be very cool, and they’re not huge.

@hickamore 

btw, the Roma line has wood faceplate, but a silver-ish finish is available.  And Synthesis does a beautiful job on their wood finishes.  See picture of my Synthesis integrated under my Big Rig pictures on my systems page.