[Ericus Rex]

It sounds like you have some good options in gear. As far as going from SS to tubes in one fell swoop I would probably advise against it. Not only very pricy, but the downsides of tubes are there. For my money - stick with the SS power amp, and add tubes upstream to your tastes. You can play with tube preamps, and tubes in the DAC and see if that may be all you are looking for. If not, you can go with tubes for power amps as well, but at least you can get the flavor. I personally built a simple tube preamp, and use it with my Emotiva XPA-2. I think they play very well together. Not very sexy in terms of 'bling, bling', but you cant have it all.

No doubt tubes (and tube maintenance) aren't for everybody.  But I find that most of that tube magic we're all in love with resides in the power tubes of the amp.  You just won't get that sound with only a tube pre or a hybrid...though they are steps in the right direction!

[rpf]

No doubt tubes (and tube maintenance) aren't for everybody.  But I find that most of that tube magic we're all in love with resides in the power tubes of the amp.  You just won't get that sound with only a tube pre or a hybrid...though they are steps in the right direction!

Agree with Eric. 

[medium jim]

If you have no problem buying used, I would seek out a VAC Phi300. While they're not monoblocks, they do have separate power supplies and are bridgeable.  They're 150watts per side, so are plenty powerful and will drive pretty much any speaker.

While they have a showroom price of around 20k, they do show up every now and then used for 8-10k.

Simply put, it is a great amp.

Jim

[Quiet Earth]

If you listen at 75 to 85dB levels, you may not need a powerful tube amp at all. You will certainly have better chances getting a nicer sounding tube amp if you don't have to generate a ton of power. You might also be surprised by how much less tube power you really need, compared to your solid state amp.

Either way, make sure that you hear the amp with your speakers (or speakers similar to yours) before you buy it.

Also, are you going to put it in that cabinet? Make sure you can get appropriate ventilation.

[doug s.]

earwaxxer, welcome to a/c!   

while i believe a tube amp is a wonderful thing, i also agree that a tube preamp is a prerequisite.  if i had to choose, i would take a tube preamp over a tube amp every time.  i cannot ever imagine not having a tube preamp in my main system.

ymmv,

doug s.

[weitrhino]

No doubt tubes (and tube maintenance) aren't for everybody.  But I find that most of that tube magic we're all in love with resides in the power tubes of the amp.  You just won't get that sound with only a tube pre or a hybrid...though they are steps in the right direction!

There's one of the beauties of the Carver tube monos ~ tube longevity and very little maintenance required.

http://bobcarver.com/pdf/VTA180M_Cutsheet.pdf

[medium jim]

Doug S:

And I cannot imagine not having both. I do agree that if push comes to shove, a tube pre before the tube amp.

Although, even an excellent tube pre cannot cure a wispy SS amp.

Jim

[doug s.]

Doug S:

And I cannot imagine not having both. I do agree that if push comes to shove, a tube pre before the tube amp.

Although, even an excellent tube pre cannot cure a wispy SS amp.

Jim

an excellent tube pre cannot cure a wispy tube amp, either...

doug s.