Tube integrated with real bass. Does it exist?

When you talk about speed, check out the Japanese tube amps. Leben, Air Tight, Zanden to name a few. They are expensive though. Another brand which has great rhythm and dynamics is Trafomatic Audio. They dont sacrifice resolution or tonality but they are very well built and they sound agile and lively.

Inna,

I understand that you are not ready to make an upgrade now, but there is an Ayon Triton 1 currently listed at $4995 which I believe would be a great candidate for your system. Having read your criteria, it'll do everything you require and should a similar one be available when you are ready to make an upgrade it would be worthy too of your consideration.

John

As I heard here, Ayon is now made in China. That's no go for me.
Yes, I realize that even VAC puts Chinese tubes, but that's only tubes. I would replace them soon with NOS non-Chinese anyway. Quality of Chinese things varies wildly, and I am not going to gamble when it comes to really expensive items. At this level I want to be able to call the designer and talk to him about particulars of certain NOS tubes, power cords upgrades, weather in New York, North Carolina, Germany etc.
So, it's either American and Canadian or European and maybe Japanese. Never heard of Australian or New Zeeland tube amps, but that might be fine too.

Inna,

From what I have read elsewhere it seems Ayon has been straightforward.  They source a few circuit boards from Asia for a few entry level products, and it seems that their aluminum casings may come from Asia.  Additionally, I've read other posts (I think it was on this forum) from people who have been at German audio shows and took day trips to the Ayon factory in Austria and described it as very state of the art production facility.  There's nothing that I've ever read that leads me to the conclusion that Ayon products are made in China, but everyone here is certainly free to draw their own conclusions.

Cheers,

John

Pani 11-28-2015 4:43amWhen you talk about speed, check out the Japanese tube amps. Leben, Air Tight, Zanden to name a few

+ 1 on Leben. The Leben CS600 puts out 32 watts @8ohms. That integrated also has good bandwidth for a tube amp. It also happens to look lovely which doesn’t hurt. I think the Vac 160i would have better bass given its higher power rating & larger transformers. But the Leben should be able to drive the OP’s 2-ways without breaking a sweat.