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Tube Power Amp Suggestions

I have been looking for a tube power amp. Ideally I want to have about 40 to 70 watts output power, with sound qualities as close to a delicate SET amp as possible, with lots of details, fast, good tone (a tiny bit on the warm side) and imaging, yet with good bass and dynamic. Budget is about 10,000. Second-hand is fine. I know I am asking really too much and will probably get negative response because of this. I just want to get the best within my budget.    
      
My initial considerations are EAR 890 or EAR 861. What do you think?      
    
I heard people saying that push-pull amp can be better than SET if it is implemented well, but push-pull is more difficult to make than a SET amp.    
      
My speakers are measured 91db sensitivity, but it needs power to perform well. I have tried both a SET 300B XLS output at 13W and a push-pull EL34 at about 35W. My impression is as follow:            
      
- SET 300B XLS output at 13W: more delicate and smooth, better resolution and density, lack bass and dynamic       
- Push-pull EL34 at 35W: much more bass and dynamic, sounds a bit coarse, less 3-dimensional and delicate     
    
Thank you in advance for your input. 
   

bigdish
analogluvr
800 posts
 
That mastersound that mani 2 linked to would be my first choice!!
ggc
78 posts
 
Hi Bigdish,
I saw a fairly new company - Alexus Audio. I was able to check out the 833 it was very impressive. They also have a 33SE  that is within your price range. Definitely worth checking out as it possesses the same characteristics that you are looking for.   
www.alexusaudio.com 
kadiddlehopper
4 posts
 
Bigdish, I have been on a search similar to yours for several years. This year my wife sent me to Rocky Mountain Audio Fest with the mission to once and for all find us a tube amp. We wanted the tonal quality of the best tube amps with detail, strong tight bass and great imaging. We wanted accuracy with smoothness and coherence that would draw us in to listen for hours. Last year our favorite was Zesto audio mono blocks. But at $19,000, out of our budget. (They have a stereo amp for 12k list) We heard many fine tube amps this year but one kept drawing us back for repeat auditions; Octave Audio. We ended up buying the V110 SE with the Super Black box. The box is filled with capacitors which allows the amp to handle ANY speaker load. It’s not as euphoric as some tube amps but some tube rolling with 6550 tubes will get some of that. This thing has the dynamics of a solid state amp with great tube tonal quality and best of all, great bass.
I just had to drag my wife out of the listening room to have dinner.
After some haggling I got the 110 and the super black box for under your budget.
We have used the integrated amp with some 91db floor standers and 85 dB bookshelf speakers (LS50) , works great with both.
Octave also has stereo amps and mono blocks.
One thing that makes this, or any system really sing is a Master Set as done by Soundings Hifi in Denver. A Master Set will save you thousands spent on cables and other tweaks. It’s damn near magic what these guys can do.
Good luck in your search
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Octave is a very good sounding push pull tube amplifier as is the Zesto,I've heard both. Generally speaking PP and SET are two different pathways to excellent sound in your home.  I own both types of amplifiers.  A listener has to determine what it is they are trying to achieve.  For my taste the SET is my favorite amplifier yet for others a PP would be their preference. The key is,  know what you "really "want. 
Charles 
labpro's avatar
labpro
29 posts
 
This may not be a very popular response to the SET vs. 91db speaker question, but after trying many SET amps on my 94db Coincident speakers, and not finding the "SET magic" that I wanted, I bought a more efficient (96db Cessaro Chopin) speaker and kept my 8W SET mono's. Amazing what a 2db difference can make.  
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