I am a big tube lover. I had the AVA Ultra 550 amp. I liked it a lot, but wanted a more "tube" sound. I currently use an AVA Ultimate 70 to drive my HT2-TLs at home right now. At work I have a Dodd EL84 based battery powered amp. I was going to pair the T-8 with that if I kept it. Instead, I feed the Dodd amp with my chord hugo, which has its own preamp section in it.
I love the Ultimate 70, but I wanted to try something new, and the looming issue I have is that I know that my Mullard EL34 XF2s and 5AR4 will not last forever. The 5AR4 could live forever, but the EL34s won't. I love them. They sound great, but replacing them will cost $1000 or so if I want Mullard again. I also wanted to lessen heat from the amps if I could. So I am going with 1625 based amps, which are at 12v plate voltage. 1625s are the 12 volt version of the 807 tube. The 807 tube family is a repinned 6L6 tube. They have each been used a lot for tube amps. The 1625 tubes run about $5 each NOS unmatched, and no more than $10 for matched or the like. I got a case of 50 NOS National Union 1625 tubes that are all still in the same case from their delivery to the navy in 1944. I paid for less for those tubes than a single NOS EL34. The front end inverter tubes are 12SX7/12SN7 tubes, which are also 12v tubes. The 12 volts across the board will mean less current draw than the lower voltage tubes and, hopefully, produce less heat. The 12SN7s are not as cheap as the 1625s, but are $10-20 each. So retubing both amps will cost $80 or so. They also push 100w+ per channel as opposed to 35w+ per channel. I won't need the power with the Exoticas, but I am happy I will have it.
Shawn