Hi,
If you decide to give up on a remote, I also have Ellis 1801's and really like the T7R with them. It's within your budget ($1,199) is completely transparent and gives you the flexibility of tube rolling (really inexpensive 12At7's), long tube life, and future upgradeability as new upgrades are developed. Quite honestly, you may want to look at a T6 for $800, selling your amp and picking up an Omegastar 440. I have listened to the Omegastar and thought it sounded excellent with my Ellis. It actually sounded better than the original Fetvalve amp I compared it with (and own).
The Ellis can be extremely resolving speakers, which is a two edged sword. Paired with good electronics (or at least electronics that go well with the Ellis) they can sound amazing. Pair them with the wrong electronics (they didn't like the Solar amp which is a very good amp) and the Ellis can be brutal. I've played around with sevearal amps, preamps, crossovers, etc. and finally think I'm close to getting these speakers to really shine.
Crossover and resistor changes have made a huge difference in the sound of my 1801's, as did room positioning. I switched from the original crossover (A)design to the B crossover and really liked the change. The speakers had much better bass with the B version and lost that "leanness" in the lower mids, while retaining most of the resolution. Plus, it allowed me to pull them out into the room. Major improvement! I was using the 8 ohm resistor on the tweeter in series with a 12.5 ohm in parallel. Thought it sounded pretty good until I heard Jerry's Dynaudio 25th anniversary speakers ($5,000) monitors. I realised that I was giving up too much high frequency detail and "air" with this resistor combination. Swapped out the 8's for 7's (in series this removes the attenuation from the highs) and switched the 12.5's with 15 ohm resistors in parallel (this raises the tweeter level). Sounded great on good recordings but was very bright and "hot" on poor or bright recordings. Adding a bit of toe-in helped but it still wasn't enough. I finally swapped the 15 ohm resistors for 12.5's. The 7 ohm in series/12.5 ohm parallel works perfectly. I still have all of the air and detail and highs are silky smooth. Bass and lower mids are still very good. I'd suggest putting those mini connectors (from Radio Shack) on your resirtors so you can make swaps without soldering. Makes for easy changing. You can also just twist them together (if you're careful) and solder once you find the best combo. Finding the right resistor combination was one of the best things I ever did for my system, and the cheapest ($3.00 each for the best ones you can buy)!
Another major improvement was experienced when I changed positioning. I have a rectangular room and used to have the speakers on the short wall playing into a room whose back wall was a half wall leading to my elevated kitchen. I moved the speakers to the long wall, with a slight toe-in and listen to them from about seven feet away. Wow! Best improvement I have ever made. I quickly learned those guys who are always harping about positioning aren't nuts afterall! They are completely correct. The biggest improvements were in bass response (major) and soundstage. Bass became much more authoratative and deep and soundstage became much deeper and wider. Best tweek ever and it was free! Makes me wonder what room treatments would do. That's my next project.
I love the AVA gear and highly recommend it, but would suggest that before you buy anything (including wires, etc.), play around with positioning and find the best resistor combination for you. You could be in for a real surprise.
Good luck,
Jack
