Looking for a first Tube Amp for under $1000

Thanks R_f_sayles! Dynaco ST-70 is definitely one of the amps I've also had an eye on. I see them on eBay a lot but I'm nervous about the quality of the mods and refinishing. I guess I need to figure out who are good resellers if I'm going to consider used amps.

Ditto Facten on the SQ-88, it has remote control for the volume as well. Sounds great and great build quality. Down the road, you will find it able to drive other considerations in speakers as well. The amps you have named I have not heard, some I have looked into. IMO the SQ-88 has more heft and for myself, a real pride of ownership.

killwhat, never heard the onix spkrs but fwiw, just about anything will beat the bose and spkrs are the most 'personal' foundation in any system so i'd definitely recommend auditioning quite a few before getting a 'deal' on a combo. of all your components the speakers will ultimately flavor the sound to your tastes. used hi end spkrs on a gon are a bargain compared to retail and will take you to a new level affordably. jmo. good luck!

I will second Grinnell's recommendation of the Primaluna integrateds . These amps are very user friendly with the
auto biasing feature . They will allow you to try many different tubes and , should you decide against tubes , will be very easy to resell .
I don't believe that your present speakers will allow you to hear what any of these amp choices are capable of doing . So maybe your choice should be guided by your desire for ease of use more than the sound of the amp or an available speaker purchase option . Just my 2 cents .

Good luck .

If you are interested in a Dynaco ST-70 I would highly recommend the ones made by Bob Latino here on Audiogon. After being a solid state person since the early seventies I purchased one of them as my first tube amp a few months ago and I am very happy. They are under your budget. Mine sounds great. Bob's are all new from the ground up and use the VTA driver board and all new parts including the chassis so you don't have to worry about old parts failing. And he gives them a one year warranty as well. I have no connection to Bob other than meeting him here on Audiogon and being a customer but I don't think you can do much better for around 800 bucks. I got the KT-88 version and it puts out around 40 wpc and to me sounds great. As a bonus Bob is a really nice person to work with.