845 SET? deHavilland / Art Audio/et..al.

Phaelon,my speakers are 4ohm,87db.The Aries 845G drives them with ease in my 12x21 room.It has all the SET purity and yet I have never thought this amp to be warm or lush.
I have tried a 250 watt solid state and a 200 watt digital amp
with these speakers, and they couldn't drive them the way the Aries G does.The only downside if any is the 845 tube is more costly then the EL34 or KT88 tube.
I hope this helps.If you would care for more info email me any time.
Enjoy

I'm keeping the CAT, just interested in adding to the mix. Want to see what SET is all about, though I suppose 2A3 or 300B would be truer to the genre, but with my Merlins it is not an option. And of course OTL is on the horizon.

Goldenerguy, do you mean that with the Joule the Viva the combo would be to warm? too lush?

Pubul57.No,what i meant was that the Solista being an integrated amp has its own preamp.You could use the Solista
as an amp only and use the joule-electra for the pre, but that would mean you are paying for something you wont be using.
Sorry for the confusion

Thanks for the clarification.

Well, I have sold the CAT JL2, and am now really focusing on the Art Audio Carissa and deHavilland 845-G for use with my Merlin VSMs. Would appreciate any additional thoughts as try to settle on one or the other. Am also considering an Atma-sphere M60 as a possible option.