Dear Scott,
A couple of suggestions.
First, reach out to the the company to see if the 5ar4 rectifier position would accept and/benefit by substituting a 5u4gb. All depends on his design but it seems your amp was possibly tubed for smoothness. For an inexpensive alternative you may consider some el84 or 12au7 tubes known for dynamics and impact.
Second and more important, dont judge the amp performance on the contrast speakers. Those drivers they use are going to have a limited range regardless of their claims. Consider some well known speaker offerings...maybe Tekton, Omega, Ref 3a, Zu, Devore etc. you may also need to recognize that small bookshelves are not going to move alot of air and you need help from the room. Maybe something rear ported. Your room isnt terribly large and the 10 watts with the right speakers will run you out of the room. Also easy to drive speaker not just highly efficient speakers should be on the menu. Think about what you described “peaks of 75 db” which if you think about it, isnt even using 1 watt. Consider seriously that it is the speaker choice you have made and/or the room. Heck, i would wager that Harbeth compact 7’s would kill it in a room that size with bass you would be surprised by. Also, a wireless sub might be just what the room needs as well.
good luck.
A couple of suggestions.
First, reach out to the the company to see if the 5ar4 rectifier position would accept and/benefit by substituting a 5u4gb. All depends on his design but it seems your amp was possibly tubed for smoothness. For an inexpensive alternative you may consider some el84 or 12au7 tubes known for dynamics and impact.
Second and more important, dont judge the amp performance on the contrast speakers. Those drivers they use are going to have a limited range regardless of their claims. Consider some well known speaker offerings...maybe Tekton, Omega, Ref 3a, Zu, Devore etc. you may also need to recognize that small bookshelves are not going to move alot of air and you need help from the room. Maybe something rear ported. Your room isnt terribly large and the 10 watts with the right speakers will run you out of the room. Also easy to drive speaker not just highly efficient speakers should be on the menu. Think about what you described “peaks of 75 db” which if you think about it, isnt even using 1 watt. Consider seriously that it is the speaker choice you have made and/or the room. Heck, i would wager that Harbeth compact 7’s would kill it in a room that size with bass you would be surprised by. Also, a wireless sub might be just what the room needs as well.
good luck.