Thanks you all for the lively discussion! Seems to be a lot of BAT fans out there. In the end, I went with the Aranovs fed by a First Sound passive preamp (Arnovs $2600, First Sound $1075, both on Audiogon - thank you Stewart of SOS.)I now eagerly await my Sony SACD SCD-1 but must also admit I do glance at the turntable ads once and while. --Lorne
Best Tube Amp under 10K?
Having every audio dealer in town recommend their line as "the best unless you want to spend $25K" and buy a ..." is frustrating. Well, like most of us, I can't spend $25K on amps ... but I am curious to know what others consider their "final" amp upgrade under $10K. My listening tastes are wide ranging but will mostly include SACD jazz and classical. I do not have a turntable ... yet. And I ususally play at low to moderate volumes only (the wife factor)-- speakers are reasonably efficient 91DB KEF Ref 4's that I hope to upgrade.