Help: low Maintenance Tube Amp short list.

Biasing is not difficult, especially on amps such as the C-J which utilize a built-in metering system. If making this operation easy as possible is really an important criteria for you, you might decide to steer clear of amps that require the use of an outboard multimeter in order to set the bias, although this is not too much more of a hassle, and could eliminate some fine contenders. Also, an amp like the C-J, which allows separate biasing of each output tube, will not absolutely require that the output tubes be acquired in precisely matched sets only, which can make things easier and cheaper if you ever have to deal with one prematurely bad tube. For the lowest in maintainance of tube amps, you could narrow the field down to just those designs which feature auto-biasing, which never require any user bias adjustments be performed at all (there are designers who feel that fixed-biasing, where periodic adjustments will be necessary, has the potential to offer slightly better sonics, but there are also designers who successfully disagree and use auto-biasing on some very good amps). No other tubes on all-tube amplifiers besides the output tubes require such adjustments, so don't let the various smaller input and driver tubes scare you off - most stereo tube amps in the power range you are thinking of generally don't exceed 4 power tubes, so biasing them isn't an all-night affair. Also know that you probably won't have to rebias more than maybe once every 6 months or so.

(BTW, put simply and non-technically, setting the bias is how the correct operating parameters are maintained as intended for a particular circuit design and each output tube's type/brand/condition, because tubes, unlike transistors, will need periodic user replacement and will change as they age, and individual tubes always vary from one to another in their precise electrical characteristics. The actual adjustment of the bias current is most commonly done via labelled set-screws accessable through small holes in the chassis, in conjunction with built-in monitoring LED's or meters in the case of those amps not requiring the hook-up of a separately-bought outboard meter. The amp's instruction manual will guide you in the process and what the correct settings should read.)

As for what's out there, the answer is lots of stuff. I've owned the MV-60's predecessor, the MV-55, and it was a fine amp for the money, but there are many other brands competing in your range, including well-known marques like VTL and Audio Research. If I might ask, what is your system and room context, what do you listen to and how loudly, what is the solid-state amp you presently use, and what are you looking to gain by switching and why (or what inspired you to search in this direction)?

Matchstikman, it's interesting that you already own tube amps, given that you seemed to come across as if you were a tube novice, and I guess you should have a better idea of what it is you want than your question may have led me at first to assume. Well, since you say your current amps are "low-quality", then what you can expect with something better is primarily a superior power supply, output transformers, and passive parts/construction, although different circuit designs and execution will still sound different from one another. But in general, you can look foward to more tonal neutrality, frequency extension, dynamic capacity, and resolution/transparancy with a better tube amp, while still retaining the traditional tube-amp virtues of spatiality, harmonic purity, and lack of textural coarseness. Good luck with your search!

Jax2, that's an interesting amp to learn about. Thanks for the tip and the photo.