Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

The thing is there is nothing inherently tube amp friendly about those Vandersteens that I can see from the specs. In fact they would appear to not be a good match at all to a tube amp. They have impedance down to 4 ohms and 86db efficiency rating. Stereophile review probably shows impedance and phase curves for more detail. I would take a look at those.

Many (actually most) very good speakers are not. It’s not a crime. Just a challenge.

I would go in anticipating that most tube amps within most peoples budget will deliver significantly compromised results overall with those Vandersteens.

With most any tube amp, I would go in anticipating at some point needing to add powered subs with proper crossover to offload most of the work (the lowest frequencies) from the Vandersteens. That should produce top notch results if done well.

Or if supplementing the Vandys with subs to make the tube amps work better with them does not sound appealing, then I would recommend using a class D power amp approach. An amp like the new Peachtree Nova 300 for example would be the kind of thing I would consider to get the best of both worlds (tube and SS sound) and also the most out of the Vandys. Rogue Pharoah hybrid integrated amp another example. I have heard the Rogue and it is definitely a big hitting top performer (from a company known mostly for its tube amps).

There is a reason tube amp makers like Rogue offer hybrid amps that use Class D amp technology. It enables their products to perform better with most speakers out there without sacrificing the sonic attributes tube amp lovers seek.

This is the approach I have taken with my OHM Walsh speakers, which are similar to the Vandys in terms of their power needs to perform best, and the results are spectacular and largely put any practical yearning for more tubes to rest.

Parasound mentioned above would seem to be another solid choice. Many others as well. Lots of clean power and current is what you need from an amp for those Vandersteens. That is the forte of SS amps, not tube amps.

@mapman I am in 100% agreement with the fact that tubes might not be the best choice for the Vandys and our budget. They are definitely not the most efficient speakers. This is why we have become more open minded about the speaker choice as we are 100% committed to running tubes. (Sorry to flip flop every one)

Since our space is so large, we have begun to consider running or eventually upgrading to 1 or even 2 subs. This will probably happen down the line. So this opens up a new dilemma with my amp choice...eventually getting signal to the subs.

Have you heard those Vandersteens off a good quality higher powered modern Class D amp?

I’d be willing to bet set up well and done right the results would be stellar and hard to beat at any comparable price (with tube or SS amps) if budget is a factor, especially in a larger room. The Vandersteen’s use larger than many (nowadays) bass drivers for their price which is essential for best sound in a larger space.

If building around tube amplification, I would still not give up on the Vandy’s especially if adding subs down the road is an option. You’d just need subs that provides the right crossover functionality to blend in with the Vandys. Should not be hard to find.

Also I have historically heard many praise Vandy’s running off ARC tube amps. I can see where the ARC tube sound (detailed, clean, not overly warm) would mesh well with Vandys. For me Id think good modern Class D would be better though for sure.

I guess I’m wondering what you are looking for soundwise if anything that initially drove you towards Vandersteen? Knowing that will make it easier to find good alternatives for use with a tube amp. My guess is though that real alternatives speakers to match Vandersteen off a tube amp may be larger and more expensive but it all depends on the room and what you seek in teh end sound wise. Tekton and Spatial Audio are two brands I know of that offer a lot of more tube amp friendly speaker for the buck. Klipsch of course is another.

A few thoughts. Since bass is important, I suggest paying even more attention to the turntable, table itself but also of course arm and cartridge. Tables are not created equal in how they do bass. Integrating subs is rarely an easy thing, two subs are better, active subs will have solid state electronics not tube so you would have both tube and solid state amplification in the system, which may be fine and may be not quite, could be an incoherent and bizarre arrangement, you would have to consult with the professionals and listen to demos.
Since you are becoming more open to other speaker brands, DeVore and Coincident are worth auditioning if you can. I will even mention Wilson, though it is something very different.
I would also speculate that you might actually be a VAC fan without knowing it yet.
Good sound is quite expensive even if you buy everything used. Good sound in bigger rooms is double that, at least.

Mapman makes a lot of sense and mirrors some of what I said re amplification.  Cottguy, you are being very reasonable about the way you are pursuing this project; good for you.  This question is not meant to challenge you in any way and you, nor anyone, need to justify any decision made with your pocket book.  I am genuinely interested in knowing what it is about tubes that makes you so set on having them.  Regards.