Contrast/compare 50W tube amps

Tpsonic, any reason the Conrad Johnson MV60 (55 watts/ch with EL34 tubes) or MV60SE (60 watts/ch with 6550 outputs) aren't on your list?

I have the MV60 and find it very musical with more than adequate power. (I listen to a wide range of music, though 95 dB average is the high end of my volume range. 80 to 85 dB is a more typical volume and the amp powers my 87 dB/watt Spendor S5e's just fine to the highest volumes I listen at.) The 6550 MV60SE might be the better choice for the top & bottom end, but there is certainly no substitute for the magic of EL34's in the midrange.

I like Jaybo's recommend of Quicksilver, Did not see the model he mentioned, but the model used for sale, Silver 60 monos, at 40 lbs/per mono, has 4 EL34's per side. Really nice at $1680. Looks to pack a punch.
I agree with Tpsonic about the ARC's, "identifiable signature on the music", very much so. Heard my friends older 200 model and the new VS110's. Smokey, grainy, bland.
Heard one older CJ monos, again, has a "CJ house sound".
Man that Silver 60 monos looks tuff. Man wish I had the bucks.

You should add Quicksilver Mid Mono's to your list. They can use EL-34, KT-88 or KT-90 tubes and output between 50 and 60 watts. By trying different tube combinations, you can achieve almost any type of sound you desire. I currenty run a pair with Mazda 12AX7's, Amperex 6922's and Grove Tube EL34's. I've rolled over 30 combinations of tubes and this is the setup I like best.

The EL-34 based amps are certainly sweet,but lack top-bottom extension.Though like the midrange.
I am sorry to say that CJ gear has a signature and doesn't resolve down to the noise-floor.Have had their units in,while having equipment repaired.It glazed over some information IMHO.
I am heavily leaning toward a less used (unfamiliar sounding??) tube output (6C33C-b/GM-70).
The revised Gallo is a detailed ,somewhat ruthless speaker,the OBs have more "body" and fullness (will post a picture soon).
Thank you for ALL the contributions ,so far.
Still no OTL comments??

OTL's, as a general rule, can sound stupendous. That is, so long as they are VERY carefully mated to the loudspeaker & cabling that they will drive. The higher the nominal impedance of the speaker, the better the OTL will work. The lower the impedance of the speaker, the more that the reactance of the speaker will "modulate" what one hears. Most would refer to this as a lack of "damping factor", but what it really boils down to is a lack of available current in the output stage of the amp.

If you look at the power output on most OTL's, you'll find that their power output actually goes UP as impedance climbs, which is the exact opposite of SS and most tubed gear ( to a certain extent ). As such, a 6 ohm nominal impedance may be too low for most OTL's, even though the Atma's are nice amps. I say this because most speakers that are "nominally rated" at 6 ohms will typically dip to 4 ohms or less. The "nominal" rating simply means that the average impedance "balances out" to the rated figure, taking into consideration the various peaks and dips involved.

Other than that, you might want to look at the availability of any tube that you'll be using. Are there lots available? Different brands to experiment with? What do they cost to replace? How hard is it to convert the unit from one type of tube to another? All of this comes into play if you intend on keeping these amps for an extended amount of time. Sean
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