Help with a first tube amp Please

You seem to enjoy the vintage life. I would buy a Scott 299C or 299D off of e-bay and have it sent directly to Craig at NOS Valves for refurbishment he specializes in the Scott integrateds.

You will have a vintage amp with excellent control facilities that works just like new, for under your budget.

Rogue Cronus might cost a tad more but sounds very good with Maggies.

Look for deals locally. I would highly recommend the rogue gear. My buddy sells it and talked it up. I bought a stereo 90 amp to try it out and was impressed (Im selling it for fair honesty) but it seems to be well done and for the price. He was also saying he had great results with Vincent which is german designed and chinese built, Go Figure.

I like 15 to 20 year old gear myself but I would recommend a Conrad Johnson MV50 and PV-10 If you wait youll find a PV-10 for $450 and a MV50 for $550. Its 2 boxes but man will it sound sweet

If you want a taste of tubes look for a clean Dynaco Stereo 70 and Pas 3x. That combination out performed an Adcom GFA 555 power amp (200 watts) and Adcom GFP 565 preamp. The Dynaco combo had a bigger soundstage, better dynamics and a much more refined and musical sound. A Stereo 70 (not modified) and Pas 3x in proper working order and clean cosmetics will cost less than your $1000 budget and they are not going down in value, unlike the "Made in China" amplifiers previously mentioned.

your budget calls for you to look at the C&J MV52 or 55 tube amps. There easy to bias unlike the Audioresearch models. There built well and the company seems to be very profitable so should be around for a long time ....