Thank you to everyone for some really great responses.
Because I'm looking to get off the upgrade path there are a lot of variables to consider. Between my VK-52SE and the Modwright Transporter I have a fair amount of tubes already. While I have some experience with tubes, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. I like the tight quick base that solid state delivers. I love the texture and imaging that tubes deliver. I don't leave my system on all the time because it throws off a lot of heat and burns a lot of electric. I will say that after it's been on for three hours plus it gets very liquid and transparent. I tried a McIntosh MC402 and found I lost a great deal of the transparency the BAT delivers. I sold it and bought a second VK-250SE after selling the previous one. That was an expensive mistake. I've thought about the new McIntosh MC 2301 amps at 300 WPC. They are a bit more reasonably priced than some of the other high powered tube amps. I wouldn't commit to them unless I heard them in my system first. I'm also thinking about giving a Krell Cast system a try with the Modwright. I'm keeping the Transporter. The Krell EVO amps burn a ton of power in stand by mode. In good conscious I couldn't leave them on all the time either. The one thing I'm reluctant about the BAT VK-600SE is the amount of heat it produces. Overall I'm really happy with my current BAT set up. I'm just not sure it will be a long term stop for me. Between the two VK-250SE's I have had it since November '07. That's a fairly long time for me.
Because I'm looking to get off the upgrade path there are a lot of variables to consider. Between my VK-52SE and the Modwright Transporter I have a fair amount of tubes already. While I have some experience with tubes, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. I like the tight quick base that solid state delivers. I love the texture and imaging that tubes deliver. I don't leave my system on all the time because it throws off a lot of heat and burns a lot of electric. I will say that after it's been on for three hours plus it gets very liquid and transparent. I tried a McIntosh MC402 and found I lost a great deal of the transparency the BAT delivers. I sold it and bought a second VK-250SE after selling the previous one. That was an expensive mistake. I've thought about the new McIntosh MC 2301 amps at 300 WPC. They are a bit more reasonably priced than some of the other high powered tube amps. I wouldn't commit to them unless I heard them in my system first. I'm also thinking about giving a Krell Cast system a try with the Modwright. I'm keeping the Transporter. The Krell EVO amps burn a ton of power in stand by mode. In good conscious I couldn't leave them on all the time either. The one thing I'm reluctant about the BAT VK-600SE is the amount of heat it produces. Overall I'm really happy with my current BAT set up. I'm just not sure it will be a long term stop for me. Between the two VK-250SE's I have had it since November '07. That's a fairly long time for me.