Tube Mono-Block Recommendation


Currently I have the Bob Carver 305, Looking to upgrade to something else in the Class A Region. Budget is around 12000 US, New or Used any recommendation.

I like the Amps, to be fast, Accurate and musical as possible. Giving me close to Transistor Amp Clarity but with the magic off tubes.
dragon_vibe
The Whisper XD come with a Built in Class D Amplifier I can use for the lower regions. The midrange and Tweeter level will run of the Tube Amps.

I do have the clayton Audio M300 at hand and they are keepers for sure. Just looking for an Alternative to SS amps.

Almarg thanks for the technical info, honestly I have no clue. What would you suggest? Mind you this is for midrange and Tweeter level. The speaker has its class D amp. I could always Bi-amp them using the Clayton Audio for the lower Woofers and the Tubes for the mids and tweets.
Looking at the specs you will want something with at least 100watts in most rooms.

So- how big is your room, how lively is it and how loud do you like to play the stereo?

If you are dealing with tube amplifiers, its better to rate the speaker in terms of efficiency rather than sensitivity. So that number is 93 db, a moderate efficiency and why in most cases 100 watts (or slightly more) ought to do the job, unless you have a large room or it is particularly dead.
06-26-13: Dragon_vibe
Almarg thanks for the technical info, honestly I have no clue. What would you suggest? Mind you this is for midrange and Tweeter level. The speaker has its class D amp. I could always Bi-amp them using the Clayton Audio for the lower Woofers and the Tubes for the mids and tweets.
I have no specific suggestions, as I have no experience with Legacy speakers. My point was simply that the large impedance variations of the speaker in the mid-range and treble regions, as well as the low impedances and difficult phase angles that are reached at some frequencies in those regions, will cause the resulting sonics to be more sensitive to amplifier differences (particularly output impedance and damping factor) than would otherwise be the case. But without having experience with the particular speaker I have no idea what particular amplifier output impedances and damping factors would be optimal. (Output impedance and damping factor are inversely proportional to each other, so damping factor can affect sonics at mid and high frequencies as well as low frequencies, due to the interaction between output impedance and the variation of speaker impedance as a function of frequency).

So I would be hesitant to give a great deal of weight to amplifier recommendations that are based on experiences with speakers other than Legacy models having similar impedance characteristics.

Good luck in your search. Regards,
-- Al
Again, Al is right on. I am amused at amplifier reviews. It is a fact that the tonality of an amplifier changes dramatically with the speaker used. If the reviewer isn't using your exact speaker in a similar room with your speaker cables, the review is meaningless. Instead, rely on the experience of others with your speakers, or, better yet, buy used and experiment in your room. Then, sell if you are not satisfied, with little loss, considering the cost. There are some excellent VTL, CJ, and Wavac amps for sale now. None of them are mine. Good luck.
... fast, Accurate and musical as possible. Giving me close to Transistor Amp Clarity but with the magic off tubes.

Sounds like an AtmaSphere MA-1 - though sans-transformer, is likely clearer than a transistor amp.