[FullRangeMan]

With this low sensitive speakers you will need alot of tubes, no SET just PushPull or worse UltraLinear to more power and lots of heat in the summer.

[opnly bafld]

I will be listening near field with 87db efficient speakers.  I use two 12" subs and listen to mostly electronic music at 60 to 75db.  I want a system to be fun and dynamic at a relatively low volume.

I use Fostex FF85WK (86.5dB 1w/1m) similarly (mostly jazz and classical) with a 4 watt SEP, no crossover likely helps.
Do you know if your speakers have a simple or more complex crossover?

[Early B.]

I will be listening near field with 87db efficient speakers.  I use two 12" subs and listen to mostly electronic music at 60 to 75db.  I want a system to be fun and dynamic at a relatively low volume.

Nah, stick with solid-state.
 

[FullRangeMan]

Nah, stick with solid-state.

++1. Or GanFet or Class D.

[opnly bafld]

Is there some rule that you can't have both?

Raise your hand if you only have one amplifier.

[Rusty Jefferson]

Listening near field to 87dB speakers at those levels is not a problem for tube amplifiers. You may not want a single ended 45 or 2A3 amp though, but even a 300b would work fine and any push/pull amplifier would give you tons of headroom. Dynamic and inexpensive tube amplifiers will be a challenge, plus speakers of that efficiency tend not to be very dynamic at low listening levels. That usually requires speakers in the mid-90s. Are you happy with the dynamics your current amp/speaker combo provides at those levels?

[Early B.]

Raise your hand if you only have one amplifier.

Hand raised.

I suppose I'm an outlier. As a budget-minded audiophile, I want one awesome amp, not a handful of mediocre amps to trade out from time to time. If I want to hear a different flavor, I'll swap out tubes. 

[mick wolfe]

An 87 db efficient  speaker will work with tubes IF it has tube friendly impedance curve. Greatest example of this I can think of are the various Fritz stand mounts. 87 DB in efficiency, but their series xovers present an easy load for virtually any amp.( I would guess nothing below a 300B SET in power though) I have 87 or 88 db GR NX Monitors. They're tube friendly as well. Only seven  components in its well designed xover. Excellent with tubes as it presents a stable impedance curve as well. Bottom line, efficiency isn't quite as important as the impedance curve a speaker presents to a tube amplifier. IOW, no serious dips below 4 ohms and a fairly stable impedance curve that stays above 4 ohms throughout. So just knowing a speaker's efficiency doesn't tell the whole story. One actually has to know the make/model of the speaker in question.
 

[FullRangeMan]

My experience was so not too idilic as your romance with crossovers. I have 4 FR drivers connected in Ser-Par no xover and they fried a Diode from my Hartke HA2400 basshead with a Klaus Schulze suite (Dig It).

[Bill Baker]

If interested in hearing a tube amp, or tube preamp with solid state amplifier, I would see if there is a dealer or buddy nearby that will let you listen to it in your system. As others have mentioned, you don’t need a lot of power for near field listening. There are many more options available than what you will get here. I also wouldn’t let anyone talk you out of tubes. Give them a listen a decide for yourself. Should you go with tubes, there are plenty of people here that will help you with any questions you may have.
I was always a tube guy. Then went to hybrids for a while but now back to full tubes. This is a hobby, enjoy it your way😁

[I.Greyhound Fan]

There are some good tube amps on Audiogon.  I say go for it.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb6bdg-mcintosh-mx160-mx-160-atmos-4k-preamplifier-processor-processors

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbb2g9-primaluna-dialogue-premium-2-available-for-mono-tube

[nlitworld]

Hey guys,
He's running GR Research X-LS Encores. They should be super tube friendly, especially with running subs to fill in the low end and moderate volume levels. Should be fine.

Will a frugal investment into the realm of tubes be as amazing as a huge $ splurge? No. But it's also not for me to say how far down the rabbit hole he should go. For under $1K to play around, I think it'd be a fun experiment that should provide an enjoyable listening experience.

[Tyson]

A used Dynaco ST70 will fit the budget and sound good.  Should easily drive those speakers.

[FullRangeMan]

For those who have sensitive speakers there is the Wright Audio EL84 SET integrated $950 they inform it is a hard wiring point to point solded, what is a rare bird now a days.
https://wrightaudioarts.com/mini-amplifier.html

Or the EL34 SET $1895 with no less than 6 inputs and 2 odds balance controls LOL
https://wrightaudioarts.com/royale_SE6_integrated_amplifier.htm

[mick wolfe]

A used Dynaco ST70 will fit the budget and sound good.  Should easily drive those speakers.

Totally agree now that we can see he's using Encores. If his budget could be stretched, there are several "modern" versions of the ST70 that could be considered  "end game" in fact. Still more than happy with my VTA ST70 bought well over a decade ago.

[FullRangeMan]

Hardly could consider a Dynaco end-game in terms of sound quality, its a PCB Push-Pull Pentode amp, perhaps end-game in terms of options, but it have a quite different sound from a Transistor Class AB amp.

In the mid 1990s a late friend (RIP) Opera/Classical music fan bought one Dynaco 70 EL34 to drive his JBL L90 4ohms 90dB and his original EL34 tubes lasted only 6 months, so he sold the Dynaco and returned to one of his Sansui/Technics integrated amps.

[FullRangeMan]

All the thousands of (happy) ST70 owners need to get rid of the amplifier now because someone somewhere didn't know how to bias his amp (or had some other problem) and burned up the tubes. The only conclusion that can be drawn is they are complete junk and must be destroyed immediately.

Your advice is wildly unrealistic even being a PCB Push-Pull amp.
The prob was not the Bias but the low sensitivity 4ohms 90dB speaker.

[FullRangeMan]

I thought that was your advice. 

No, dont get rid of this amp, instead use it til it broke.
When the PCBs get older the amp can be re-made with point to point solder at a cost of course, just dont use stranded wiring which are extensively used why its easy to solder.

[/mp]

just dont use stranded wiring

Why not?

[FullRangeMan]

Why not?

Tubes work with high voltage and the thin stranded wires will oxidize in short time with the passing current, but stranded wire is the darling of builders why it is easy to solder and Hard Wiring are very difficult to solder.