Tube Amp Recommendation

Calvin,

I have never heard the Crown amp. Personally, I am not all that fond of amps with fans... just one more thing that can break... and if it does, who knows how much damage can be done from overheating (if you are not there when the fan breaks)?

You might want to consider Rogue amps. They are close to your price range used. But I still think it will be difficult to effectively drive those speakers with a tube amp in this price range.

Good Luck!

Keith

Rogue 120''s or a good deal on a Mesa Baron like I got.The Baron lists for $4K but can be had fopr $1500 used.150 watts full pentode and the abiltiy to tailor 12 5881's/El34's in thirds to triod/pentode make this the best piece of gear I have picked up.

Calvin,
The pre-map you got is a pretty fast sounding tube pre-amplifier, if you like fast music, you can match a transitor amp without any problem, but if you like classical music and slow type of music, then you surely need a tube power amplifier. But in the market, there seems to be no tube power amplifier with 2ohm output impedance selection. Fortunately, I know one manufacturer can give you the 2ohm output option, it is the "Space-Tech Lab" , the web site address is "www.space-tech-lab.com". Those model VP-102 and VP-103 output transformer have 2/4/8 ohm wiring point, although the standard model is come with 4/8 ohm , but you can ask for internal wiring of 2/4 ohm output without extra cost. The price is really reasonable, just about $1500 new with all point to point hand-wired, no printed circuit board. Take a look and you might find something really interest.

Good Luck.

Audio Helper

Thanks everyone for the all the inputs. Well, I wasn't able to find a tube amp that would really do what is need at a budget price. So I ended up buying a Carver Lightstar Reference. While I can still still send this amp in soft clipping, it sounds great. The Acoustat produced bass that I didn't know they were capable of. I have never been a Carver fan, but I must say, they beat the heck out of my Adcom 656 mono-blocks. The sound field is a little in the rear, but very open. I may need to try another preamp. I will try this setup for a while until I find something better, is possible.

Again, thanks,

Calvin