Tube amps vs solid state for large speakers

Try biamping or triamping..use SS to drive the woofers.

I don't know your speakers but with tube power the key is what db efficiency rating and what nominal impedance...if the speakers are less than 8 ohm and 90 db then tube amping will become somewhat problematic...what are the speakers specs? Shadorne's suggestion to bi-amp is a possiblity but are the speakers biwireable and it will be hard to bi-amp for your budget.
Larry

Heres the specs I could dig up for the 1290's which are similar speakers just a bit smaller:

Impedence: 8 ohms nominal
Efficiency: 90 dB SPL from 2.8 VRMS.

They can be bi-amped but need to be done so with an external crossover. If I could figure out how to do that that would be great. Unfortunately I cannot just hook another amp directly to the other binding posts.

90 Db is not bad. I uses a pair of 175 watt Conrad Johnson tubed monoblocks to drive a pair of speakers with only 86 dB sensitivity. Tubed does not mean low powered - witness the various monsters from VTL. For under 2 K, you shold be able to find some options. I owned a pair of Aronov monoblocks for a while which were pretty nice for the $$.

BTW, my current speakers are ~ 6 feet tall, and I use 18 wpc tubed amps to drive them. It helps that the speakers are 117 db efficient :-)

What you really need to know is the impedance curve of your speakers, i.e. impedance vs. frequency and phase angle vs. frequency. The voltage sensitivity of your speakers will make them a marginal load for a low-powered tube amp, especially a SET amp. They might well be a very good match for a higher-powered tube amp, especially since they are a nominal 8 ohm impedance. There are good tube offerings from Cary Audio, Audio Electronic Supply, Antique Electronics, and some of the new Chinese amps like Cayin.