Should I get a new amp?

Fatgh0s

Do you use a sub? If so your choices IMO expand looking at tube amps, or tube ints, which are a real good suggestion... eg., Prima Luna, Antique Sound Labs, Cary, VTL, etc. Even some under 100 wpc.

your desires for bass output will matter too. though I feel with tubes and your 1027s, the 'slam' aspect SS provides therre will be lessened some... although again, that's a taste thing as well.

True enough, an ALL tubes power train reveals a different sound than SS + HS (hollow state), and some find it pleasing enough... I did and still do depending on the mood and genre of music. The better the tube preamp in that case, the better however.

The issue I had in going tubes was the same as yours and many others.... finding the right power match, AND the right sonic result. I beleive my true aim is for SET, (single ended triodes) which are quite low in power output comparitively speaking. Under 20 wpc, usually. that path entails a much keener match of amps and speakers. Much.

So I compromised. Some. Given your budgetary constraints I would think some compromises are in order for an all tube int in the $1500 range. Flexibility with rolling of tubes is another great idea. The PL int affords you that too. the one I'm thinking of can run in ultralinear at 100 wpc, and 50 in SET and can use various tube compliments so you can get a shot at finding 'your' sound better.

I ran a 60wpc tube amp in a larger room than yours on lesser eff speakers with as difficult to drive loads and got decent sound levels, none of those pairs of speakers went lower in bass than do your 1027b's. Consequently, I added a sub and was very good with the outcome.

later on I went up to mono block tube amps, and changed speakers.

so my single caveat for you to consider is this, Things change. As much as we would all like to have our next move in audio be our last, it seldom ever is our last. seldom too is our next move the perfect one.

so if you are thinking to 'try' tubes, then just do that... try. you won't go too far wrong, IF AT ALL... if bought right, very likely none at all as you can sell it later.

Blindjim: Very interesting points. I do use a sub and while I was trying to avoid using it for music listening, I just don't think it's going to happen given all my positional constraints (narrow room, doubling as HT, etc).

To me, it's much more important that the 1027's capture from mid-bass on up as accurately as possible and I'm not so worried about that bottom end slam. For now, I'm perfectly OK with letting my sub handle from 80hz and below.

Forive my ingnorance, but what exactly is 'tube rolling'? I hear the term all the time but never actually understood what it meant.

Without looking up your speakers here is my opinion on the bass . My 926's only had 2 little 7inch drivers for the bass . I ran them with a 200w SS amp (300w@4ohms) in a 13ft.X26ft. room setup 11ft. from my listening position firing down the long walls. There was just no way to get any decent bass from those little drivers on their own . At that time I was listening mainly to classic rock music . A sub would be the only way to get good lower bass with them and I was not able to blend my sub well with the 926's .

What is the size of your listening room ?
What type of music do you listen to ?
How loud do you want to play those 1027's ?
These factors will be important in determing how big of an amp that you will need to drive your speakers .

Just my opinion .

Saki70: My listening room is 11Wx20Lx7.5H. The back end of the room, however, is open to the rest of my basement so there is no wall. THe speakers are positioned at the end WITH the wall behind them, firing down the long walls toward the open space. I sit about 7-8' off the speakers.

The speakers are only about 18" off the side walls and 12" off the back walls becuase there is a projection screen on the wall behind them. Acoustic panels are at the first reflections for my listening chair on walls and ceiling. Floor is low-profile carpet over concrete. The back of the room is wrapped by 3 microfiber couches which do a good job of high-frequency absorbtion in the back, but they are all behind my listening chair.

I listen to some classic rock, but probably more folk, acoustic, blues and jazz than anything. I have somewhat of an addiction for ultra smooth female vocals, regardless of genre. Not so much in the way of classical/orchestral.

I don't listen to them at ear-bleeding loud levels. I would say probably on average between 75-85db tops (not factoring in dynamic peaks).

Ok , try this get the Primaluna Prologue 2 advertised here for $950 . If you are still worried about the power thing you could also try some Speltz autoformers and zeros , again listed here for $450 . They should , if I understand them right , take care of the lower impedance dips . That would leave you with $100 for shipping and be with in your budget . The Prologue should be easy to sell if you don't like it . Don't know about the Speltz stuff .

Try bringing your speakers another 12 inches out from the wall behind them . If you loose some bass then put them back . Also try to put them on an equal lateral triangle ie. the same distance apart as the distance from your listening position . Toe them in so that , in your listening position , you can see equal amounts of the sides of each speaker . When mine were setup this way they had the best soundstage that I have ever witnessed . It actually seemed like some of the performers were behind the wall behind the speakers , some were outside the boundaries of the left and right speakers and some were at my feet . It all depended on the CD mixing and the accompaning equipment but not that hard to do just to see what happens .

It doesn't sound like that you need to run your system at high sound levels to enjoy your music .

But if it were me , I would just get the integrated and see what happens . If it doesn't work well then try your sub with it . If that doesn't work well either , you still will have gotten a taste of what tubes are like and can go from there . Just my 2 cents .

Good luck .