Best small intro to tubes?

I'll second the aa (Audio Aero Prima) suggestion. One tube in the preamp section and a mosfet amp. A nice little integrated. I paid $575 delivered for mine, no remote though. The newer ones, ie more expensive, do have a remote. Runs pretty cool too.

I'm with Rar1 on the Prima Luna gear. Very nice for the price point. Enjoy!

Check out the Sophia Baby,$900 or EL34,$1500 at Sophia Electric. They may offer a trial with a restocking fee. Mating amps and speakers is very important. See it as a whole. Good luck.

Lots of votes for Prima Luna and nothing but good reviews as far as I can see. I may be giving them a call shortly.

It'll be a weird setup. Probably using a pair of Wilson Watt 3's as speakers and an iPod (with lossless compression) as a front end at first. Not really an audiophile system but it'll beat the heck out of the wave radio that's in the bedroom now.

Anybody done something similar?

I second the Sophia EL 34. You can pick it up used for about $600. Worth every penny, you can get all your money our of it once you realize how wonderful, and contagious the tube sound can be...You WILL be upgrading...LOL Good Luck!