Entry level tube amps?

This may sound a bit strange but I advise waiting a few months, actually until October or so. Why? Because of the heat issue.
About three weeks ago I traded an amp for a Jolida JD-202A with a local Audiogon member. Thought I'd give tubes a try.
Hooked it up, turned it on and let it warm up. Sound was very nice. Not up to par with my ss system but the cost difference isn't small.
After an hour of listening I left the room for 30 minutes. When I returned I was hit by the heat in the room. Bottom line, I sold the amp today.
If I had tried this in the fall or winter I probably would have kept the amp around for a more rigorous evaluation.
If you do go with the tubes be prepared to crank up the AC.

-Cayin TA-30 (Bizzybee upgrades.. biasing pots on the side, vs underneath) $600-700

Prima Luna Prologe II $900-1100. Auto-biasing, soft start circuit. Basically plug and play, no hassle.

Some believe that both are basically the same amps. Kevin Deal who imports the PrimaLuna line claims better internals. I don't know. I have the PLII. I like mine quite a bit.

The Cayin (takes awhile to find one) has a pre-out to separate the preamp and amp, going for it.

I bought this model for the same reason you are. Easy to tube roll. Both uses almost all power tubes. KT88, 6550, EL34s.

If you're coming from solid state, from what I've read, the Russian Gold Lion "re-issues" KT88s are supposed to be very very good. I have a set, haven't plugged them in yet (waiting to get my room in order).

Currently have Electo Harmonix (EH) 6550s in and stock preamp tubes, quite like it.

I got my tubes from Jim McShane (google him, very well regarded), and Kevin Deal at upscale audio is suppose to be very good as well.

Also, look into the Monarchy M24 all tube DAC and linestage (2 separate power supplies). It has a 3K output impedance though, but you could use it as a "tube" preamp to go with your existing power amp (no worry about driving speakers). To get your toes wet.

I went this way for a while, but decided to go full tube integrated.

From 9 feet away, I dont' find tubes that hot. IME, a non-issue. Just go for it.

You can probably find a used Music Reference RM-9 for under $2000.00, but it's far, far better than an entry-level amp. It's the first tube amp I ever heard and I understood all the fuss immediately. Seriously great amp.

I agree with Joelv,Music Reference RM-9 is a world class amp the best for the money and very reliable.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Please keep in mind that my goal is to get more texture in the midrange compared to my current amp, First Watt F5, which is rather good one in terms of midrange performance. I don't need a lot of power, as my current amp is 25Wpc only and it's plenty enough. I did hear Cary V12, although not in my system, and the characteristics is close to what I'm after.