Newbie wants tube recommendations

You could get some used Conrad Johnson gear pretty cheap. There is lots of it around because they have been around a long time.

There is a lot of nice Cary and AES (a second Cary brand) here on Audiogon. Its top rate stuff and there is a ready market for it which makes it easy to get in and out of.

Many of the units are switchable between ultralinear and triode. They use widely available tubes - and in a lot of cases one amp can handle multiple types - which makes tube rolling extra fun and confusing! All the gear can be sent back to the factory for all sorts of fun modifications when the itch strikes.

If cost is an issue I suggest you look for an integrated simply because that eliminates one unit, plus the interconnects, power cord and tweaks.

I am very pleased with the support I have received from Dennis and the rest of the Cary team even though I was not the original owner.

One more thing - I would be remiss not recommending that you at least consider some of the new product being built in China. Some of it is quite incredible. here is a link running currently on AGon about one such brand - BTW I happen to have some other TAD products and am very pleased

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ramps&1129061242&openfrom&1&4#1

I have recently bought an Aronov 960Lsi integrated tube amplifier just to try out how tube would sound in my system for around 1100USD, here. I have a Wilson Benesch Act One speaker, which was driven by an Mark Levinson 331. It was ok, but I always missed something. It was detailed, dynamic, but cold and lifeless. Especially on classical music. I have tried various cables and tweaks to get right the sound, but i never got it. Now, with the tube amplifier, I am at the right sound. I never anymore look for to solid state amplification. Still, I have to sell some of all those ultra expensive cables, which I bought to get somme music out of the transistors. I am sure, that there are many good, even better products out there than the Aronov, but I am very pleased with it.

With your speakers you will want an amp that retains some of the better qualities of solid state...ie, deep powerful bass.

Not all tube amps are created equal...stay away from the classic tube sound types IMO...they work best with bookshelf speakers...no deep bass needed so not an important factor.

The Aronov and Rogue brands would work well for you...lots of others fit the bill also but I'm not sure what you mean by "Don't break the bank"?

Dave