Tube amp recommendation

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

FWIW if the amp is good, its good with rock, hip hop, electronic, classical- whatever.

I might respectfully disagree with you here, Ralph. I think we've discussed this; the exception I can think of is with low-powered SET amps which excel at certain specific qualities that are best enjoyed with more sparse and simple musical arrangements. Though they can certainly also sound "good" with rock, hip-hop, electronic, etc., my experience has been that denser arrangements are better served by different topologies delivering more current. I guess then your statement might imply that those SET amps are not "good" amps, which what I'd understand you are opining here (those amps which are not versatile enough to handle any type of music are not "good" amps). Correct me if I'm wrong. I understand that there are issues of distortion that also come hand-in-hand with many SET designs, particularly 2nd order harmonic distortions. These haven't seemed to bother me, or their bother is offset by the qualities I'm enjoying, I suppose.

From your paper:

In the world of speakers, efficiency of the speaker has been an issue that the Voltage camp has had to address, as the older Power Paradigm specification of 1 watt/1 meter was a 'chink in the armour'. The new Voltage Paradigm specification, Senstivity, illustrates the point: 2.83V/ 1 meter is the spec, resulting in a certain sound pressure level, expressed in db, just like the Efficiency spec. 2.83 Volts into an 8 ohm load is 1 watt. 2.83 Volts into 4 ohms is 2 watts. Thus, a speaker can have a senstivity rating that looks the same as the efficiency rating, but the speaker can be several decibels less efficient if the impedance is lower. This is an easy way to cover up how much power it really takes to drive a speaker, and also creates an expression that moves the efficiency issue into the Voltage Paradigm nomenclature. It would also seem to create a 'buyer be ware' situation: you have to know how to interpret the numbers to get to the truth of the matter.

From another thread, I mentioned that I'm using 9 watt SET amps pushing speakers in nearfield that are 92db at a flat 10ohms. The only times I've experience audible distortions has been in the low end, when bass gets very low and intense. I'd always assumed that it was the amps inability to move the larger bass drivers fast enough, but you seem to be implying something different here (or are you)? Am I actually pushing the speakers to distortion in other parts of the range and just not hearing it as much as in the bass? Oh, and is "Voltage Camp" like "Band Camp"?

Finally, a quick note to the original poster who has not chimed in with more specs. Another detail you did not mention is whether or not you already had a preamp and what that component was, or whether you were in search of an integrated tube amp. As others have indicated your budget and speakers might be good things to list. "Entry to mid-level" might mean different things to different people. I'd guess from re-reading your post that you are probably looking for an integrated tube amp. No idea of your budget though. I'd echo the recommendation of Quicksilver, but Mike's stuff is all power amps (require a preamp) - certainly huge bang-for-buck there. Ralph's amps are excellent as well, but I wouldn't put them into an entry to mid-level category (again, that is subjective according to your own budget). There are a whole bunch of good integrated tube amps coming from China if you care to go that direction. I'm more for supporting local myself, but offerings are not as plentiful.