Tube amp recommendation

Speakers are a big determining factor in the amp decision. You should look to the Quicksilver silver Mono, V4, ARC VT 100, MKi, ii, iii, Reference line, VS110, VAC, and a handful of others. jallen

A couple of quick corrections to my most recent post, which I fired off in a hurry in order to make a train.

First, I did not mean to insinuate that Atmasphere (a/k/a Ralph) advocated an 8 Ohm speaker because his output transformerless ("OTL") amps do best on such speakers - Ralph has integrity and advocated such a speaker, as I read him, because such speakers are easier for any amp to drive, whether tube or transistor in design, all things being equal. As for OTL amps, they generally do require a speaker with a benign impedence (it is hard to generalize, but 6 Ohms at a minimum, 8 Ohms being better) and that is what I was trying to convey, albeit inarticulately.

Second, my last sentence concluded "with a typical 4 Ohm speaker, which is most of them these days, I believe it takes a really fine tube amp, i.e., something with top-notch transformers and lots of capacitance, to provide tight bass." I meant to write "a typical speaker that averages 4 Ohms in the bass". The impedance of most audiophile speakers varies up and down considerably depending upon the frequency, but the problem for tube amps tends to be speakers featuring an average low impedance in the bass (those also featuring steep phase angles in the bass add to the agony), as most tube amps can't deliver the requisite current (because of crappy transformers, puny power supplies, and oftentimes both).

you neglected to tell us two "biggies" your speakers and how much you want to spend.

Check out the CARY SLA-70 now for sale here on the 'Gon. It's self biasing, reliable, and CLASS A. Tubes last and are cheap to replace.

Rogue M-150 about $2,000 used. 150 watts ultralinear and 100 watts triode easy to switch on the fly. Easy to bias and holds bias well. Good control of woofers and American made. Good luck