Diving into the world of tubes...help needed!

Speaking of bargain gear, my original series Schiit Freya preamp (there are two newer versions, one without tubes and a supposed improved version of the tubed one) sounds excellent, as does the Schiit Aegir amp I just bought out of curiosity (I generally use a Dennis Had tube amp...also relatively inexpensive)...total for those two was around 1,600 bucks, USA made, and the Aegir is by far the least expensive amp to make the Stereophile Class A recommended stuff list. Note the Aegir needs either efficient speakers (mine are rated at 99db) or use two in balanced mono. I agree with Atmasphere that tone controls are rarely needed if your rig is well sorted, but a Schiit Loki (too much Schiit? maybe...still another very inexpensive option) is by far the least harmful EQ I’ve ever used...utterly transparent (mine is always off until called into service), and useful here and there.

Hey jetter...yeah, the Aegir has tempered my desire for an XA25 for now anyway. The Aegir (I've had it for only a couple of days after having to send the first one back...input sensitivity issues...Schiit payed for all the shipping of course and could not have been nicer) is the most astonishing SS amp I've heard in my or anybody else's system. It's a great sounding late night "low volume" amp, and it has a mesmerizing sound that seems to dig deep into whatever you're listening to at any volume. For what they sell these things for it was very hard to resist trying the thing and man...what an amp...