Help What Say You - Amp choices

Undertow is 100% correct, but you need some guidance to choose tube-friendly speakers. Generally speakers with a very smooth impedance curve, and if it nominally 8 ohms rather than 4 ohms, all the better. A tube amp with the wrong speaker can result in less than ideal bass - tubes don't handle poorly engineered speakers with wild swings in impedance very well. What speakers do you have or are you considering. Tube bass is all the things Undertow mentions, it breathes and blossoms into the room in a very 3D manner; I think sometimes the word "bloom" is used to describe it; it sounds very natural.

I would add that if no single set-up (and we're talking systems here, since everything besides the amps is NOT equal, right?) jumps out at you as 'the one', that could mean a few things:
1. you're just not all that picky and could be happy with any of these amps (nothing wrong with that!)
2. you should keep looking until something blows you away (i.e. you're not done with your search yet)
3. you haven't listened 'properly', as in all the above posts' suggestions about bringing your own favorites. when I audition things, I bring music I've heard 100+ times: as soon as it starts, I immediately can hear the differences, and if it doesn't impress me as a definite improvement (i.e. I have to really think hard about it...) then it's not 'it'

Get the dealer to give you the unit as a loaner, with your giving him security. Until you put it in your 'chain', it is a chap shoot. SS should rule below 100Hz, otherwise it is tubes.

Thanks for the suggestions and responses. I do bring my own music, and I while I bring different selections with me, I always bring one of the same selections ALL THE TIME (Yellowjackets - Greenhouse). However, I have always listened to the full track before changing gear, so I'll have to change my method of listening. (Thanks Geifman) But like I said, a proper a/b comparison is virtually impossible because the Rogue and McIntosh amps are not sold in the same shop.

Regarding the sound, all three were very authoritative with the bass, with the McIntosh having a warm laid back sound, somewhat tube like. In some ways, I felt that the McCormack may have had a little more umph, but that may have been due to a difference in speakers. The McCormack did not sound laid back to me, but still did a great job with its presentation. I was thoroughly impressed with the Rogue because I was not prepared for the way in which it handled the bass. (So much for tubes not being able to do bass as well as SS) It never felt thin and it had great tone.

I have done all of my listening on the Focal 1027be and the Nola Viper Reference. Both great speakers with different sounds, but I like them both. I am however, leaning towards the Nolas if I can score a nice used pair; they list for $12,000, while my speaker budget is in the Focal neighborhood. And yes, the speakers are in two different shops as well, but the sound of the Nola's is magical to me. They were being driven by McIntosh monoblocks. Focals were being driven by the Rogue monoblocks and/or the McCormack.

I'm sure I'd be satisfied with all three amps as they all performed very well. Under the circumstances, its been tough for me to pick a clear cut favorite. However, I won't rush it, because I'll be keeping this system for a long time. Maybe its been so difficult for me because they are all just that good!!

It if matters, I already have a deposit on the Rogue Perseus preamp.

The Nola Viper, if I remember correctly (I owned their predecessor under the Alon badge), are very tube friendly and would likely work very well with Rogue. I think the tube bass issue is one of proper matching with the right speakers. Although I would say my CAT and Music Reference amps produce great bass on almost any speaker. I've never noticed much difference between a well made stereo and monoblock topologies, but that's me. Although you can run very short speaker wire with monos, and I suppose that is a theoretical advantage.