Amp for rock/metal with high efficient speakers

Oh, should have mentioned that I would like to not go
above $4K, and that buying used is ok.

I run a pair of Quicksilver Horn Monos with my Klipsch la Scalas (104db) - at only 25w per side, I can still drive the room to unsafe levels without coming apart soundwise. Metal, prog, 70's hard rock, space rock, classic dub, avant garde electronica, in about that order. A tube amp is most definitely worth considering. With tube amps, one of the benefits is the ability to tweak the sound through your tube selection. In either case (tube or solid state), I would look for an amp with a neutral to soft presentation, which would be beneficial for the less-well recorded material, as an overly forward or crisp amp can sound harsh with sensitive speakers and the often compressed source material we listen to.

For solid state, perhaps one of the new Pass Labs amps (X.5 series, or the new Aleph J) might be of interest. I've only heard the older ones (Aleph 3 and Aleph 30), and liked them quite a bit with my setup.

I imagine you can produce a bit more bass with those speakers than with my setup - you should check the impedance curve of your speakers to see if they are a difficult load in any frequency range. If they aren't a difficult load, you could consider some smaller to intermediate wattage tube amps (but I wouldn't go below 25w), or some smaller wattage class A amps (Pass Aleph J comes to mind.) If they are a difficult load, or want more bass/slam, a higher-power push-pull tube amp would be a nice fit. My only experience with higher-powered tube amps is with the Rogue M120s (120w, 4 KT88 or similar per side) which produced enough power and slam to satisfy all my wildest metal listening sessions (at any volume, and then some). They're well below your pricerange, and there are more refined amps to be sure, but as far as power and suitability to the source material, it does go to answer your question (from my viewpoint) that "yes", a tube amp is well worth considering for this type of music and setup.

I would consider a McCormack DNA 125. Buy a used one, very reasonably priced on Audiogon, and have it modded by Steve McCormack. You'd have a sweet amp that should drive efficient speakers with no problem.

you asked,is a tube amp worth considering,NO they are not.

ive read your tastes in music but more important is your choice in speakers,im sitting here loking at your description & assuming that anybody who chooses speakers with 2 15 inch woofers plans to really get down & that you also like a good STRONG bass response,am i correct?

even though your speakers are 99db efficent your gonna need an amp with some serious balls to drive both them 15 inch woofers & a tube amp will get the life sucked right out of it,i have owned speakers that were 104 db efficent & tube amps did sound very good at lower listening levels but when i really wanted to mash on the volume the bass got very loose & squirley.

im sure there are guys who will dissagree but my belief is that tube amps are not well suited to heavy metal music at all,i listen to metal too & i have yet to find a tube amp that didnt turn to mush when i blast some tool or pantera,tube amps are not well suited at all to your music preferences & will sound very thin.

if you want to have the ability to really drive your speakers to their maximun potential then solid state high current high wattage amps are the way to go,everybody has their own idea of what loud is,my idea of loud music is when my neighbors windows rattle 3 houses down the street.

look into some of these amps.

krell, ksa 150 & ksa 250.

pass labs,x150 & x250 & x350

aragon, palladium monoblocks

mcintosh, mc2500 , mc2600 & mc500

parasound, halo monoblocks

bryston,way too many to list.

mike.