My budget was similar to yours, although I started with a smaller budget but then had to adjust upwards when I fell in love with a set of speakers.
For my $22k main rig, I put $10k in speakers/sub, $6k in integrated amp, $2k in source/dac/streamer (all in one), $1k in power conditioner, and $3k in everything else (power cables, speaker cables, interconnects, isolation, noise suppression, etc.).
FWIW, that’s what worked for me. Many might say I underspent on source to detriment of others but the only source I use is Tidal streaming (no vinyl, no cds, no digital storage) -- obviously if you care about those things then would have to skimp on some of the categories I went heavier on to fit them in.
Agree with what others have said on auditioning stuff. Try to make it happen. $20k too large a budget not to be quite confident you’ll like what you get. In-home always best but not realistic for many. I did all of my auditioning in dealer showrooms, probably 20+ speakers and 5-10 amps/electronics over a 6 month period. Research was well worth it, as none of the pieces I ended up purchasing would have even been on my short list when I started.
Sorry I don’t have tube recommendations for you, but I think listen to as many speakers as you can with tube amps and it’ll become clear to you. You’ll know when you hear it. Also suggest don’t foreclose on floorstanding speakers -- be sure to compare some of them against the bookshelves you’d otherwise get. My experience was that, even with standmounts and a sub, the sound of floorstanders was just so much fuller and with additional layers than the bookshelves could deliver. I like bass so I got the sub anyway, haha. YMMV
For my $22k main rig, I put $10k in speakers/sub, $6k in integrated amp, $2k in source/dac/streamer (all in one), $1k in power conditioner, and $3k in everything else (power cables, speaker cables, interconnects, isolation, noise suppression, etc.).
FWIW, that’s what worked for me. Many might say I underspent on source to detriment of others but the only source I use is Tidal streaming (no vinyl, no cds, no digital storage) -- obviously if you care about those things then would have to skimp on some of the categories I went heavier on to fit them in.
Agree with what others have said on auditioning stuff. Try to make it happen. $20k too large a budget not to be quite confident you’ll like what you get. In-home always best but not realistic for many. I did all of my auditioning in dealer showrooms, probably 20+ speakers and 5-10 amps/electronics over a 6 month period. Research was well worth it, as none of the pieces I ended up purchasing would have even been on my short list when I started.
Sorry I don’t have tube recommendations for you, but I think listen to as many speakers as you can with tube amps and it’ll become clear to you. You’ll know when you hear it. Also suggest don’t foreclose on floorstanding speakers -- be sure to compare some of them against the bookshelves you’d otherwise get. My experience was that, even with standmounts and a sub, the sound of floorstanders was just so much fuller and with additional layers than the bookshelves could deliver. I like bass so I got the sub anyway, haha. YMMV