Getting into tubes?

audionewbie, i'd suggest calling dennis had of cary - he's *wery* friendly, & will give ewe the straight poop. i can say that the cary slp98 preamp is an excellent unit, especially at its price-point. i ended up preferring the melos, but its retail price is ~$2k more, & melos isn't known for the supreme reliability that cary is... doug

I checked out the AES SE-811. I found it to be a great amp. Very open and clean. If you can handle the fact it is only 12(I believe) watts, you would be fine. More people than you would expect can do very well on that amount of power. I have seen they now have the same amp with an 845 output tube. The name is probably SE-845. I think it may be 27 or 32 watts. I would love to get the opportunity of listening to it. Then there is also the Cary SE572(20 watts). Benefits of the AES amps are the input level controls, which you can use for volume. This would bypass the need for a preamp if you are only using one source, or don't mind switching cables back and forth. I have yet to hear a bad tube amp from Cary.

Thanks thanks for the advice. I think that I willbe looking into purchasing my amp & pre amp from AES for christmas.

You might also check ou the AES AE-25 Super ... Good writeup on their site, and Sam Tellig loved it a couple issues ago.

I just bought a AE-3 pre-amp from them. I am really pleased with it. I havn't listened to any of their amps but I would jump at the opportunity. My Hales can be a difficult load and my SS Aragon amp has no problem driving them but sometimes I long for just a little more tube sweetness.