As much as I liked the sound of the AQ 1001, I didn't end up going the tube route for now. WAF was a big factor, but so was the amount of heat thrown into my smallish room. I didn't notice any lack of power with the 1001, but I don't push the speakers particularly hard. Being fairly new to tubes, I didn't really experiment with different modes of operation.
It's a bit of a long story, but I traded in an unsuitably large and expensive megawatt amp for a new Naim Nait 5i and Naim CD5x. I'm very pleased with that partnership in my near-field listening set-up. Some reviewers have described the Nait sound as on the warm and tubey side. To me, much like the Dulcets, the Nait it seems very clean, natural, unadorned. Certainly, there is no sense of harshness or any etched effect.
I'm in no position to say that Nait + Dulcet = the very best, but I never find the music fatiguing through this system. It's a bit of a cliche, but you feel like you're just enjoying the music, not listening to equipment. I don't doubt that it is possible to better the Nait with enough money and searching. It's just that I no longer feel the need...
That said, the ASL tubes had their own magic. Here then, is what was shared with me; (I have no connection to the music biz, except as a consumer - all references to 'supplied by us', editorial comments etc. are from Divergent)
Antique Sound Lab.;
AQ 1003 DT, 30 WPC, $1295.00;
Well made classic design unusually good sound at a very reasonable price.
AQ 1001 DT, 50/29 (triode) WPC, $1895.00
Very high performance, easy to use and offering excellent value.
AQ 1010 DT, 18 WPC, SET, $2995.00
Designed strictly for high performance, is one of our best sounding amplifiers. Can easily compete with other at twice the price.
Leyla, 22 WPC with 845 tubes, $3995.00
Truly a state of the art concept in tube design and a real bargain considering similar designs selling at much more.
Copland CSA 29, 80 WPC, $3995.00
Newly re-designed tube solid state hybrid. It is power full fast and warm sounding.
Others we tried (not supplied by us):
Audio Zone amplifiers
www.audiooasis.com.
Ultra simple hand built purist solid state designs from a tiny Canadian company. Yet to hear a better solid state amplifier. with our loudspeakers.
Exposure 2010 integrated:
Simple and surprisingly good at less than $800.00
Monarchy mono power amplifiers
Very good solid state sound and a good value.