Member's recommendations for tube amplification

David, I can't shed any additional light on your question beyond what Charles and Kenny have said.  Best of luck as you proceed.

Best regards,
-- Al
 

David, we’ll see what Ralph has to say, but I would be skeptical about the suitability of the S-30 for use with a 4 ohm speaker, albeit one that apparently has a particularly flat impedance curve, given the amp’s 7 ohm output impedance and also its 50% greater power capability into 16 ohms compared to 8 ohms (with no rating specified for 4 ohms). It seems to me that you would almost certainly have to use a pair of Zero autoformers connected in a 4:1 configuration, to make the speaker appear to the amp as a nominally 16 ohm load, but even then my guess would be that neither the amp nor the speaker would be performing at its best.

On paper, at least, the M-60 seems to me to be a much safer bet.

Best regards,
-- Al

David_Ten, if an OTL may be of interest I’d suggest that you check out the following listing here for a pair of Atma-Sphere M-60s:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-mk-3-3-2017-09-01-amplifiers

The seller is Duke of Audiokinesis, and based on the many outstanding posts he’s made here over the years I’d have total confidence both in him and in any advice he may have to offer as to their suitability for use with your Tekton Double Impacts. I presume, btw, that your DI, and the DIse you have recently ordered, are in the 4 ohm configuration that is usually chosen. If so, it may be best to use an OTL in conjunction with a pair of Zero autoformers, to boost the impedance seen by the amp.

You may also want to consider a used (and no longer manufactured) VAC Renaissance 30/30 or 70/70. The 30/30 utilizes a push-pull pair of 300B output tubes per channel and is rated at about 30 watts per channel. The 70/70 utilizes two pairs per channel in a push-pull parallel configuration, and is rated at about 70 watts per channel. Both should be findable in your price range, although the 70/70 would probably be close to the upper end of that range. I use the 70/70 in my system, with 6 ohm Daedalus Ulysses speakers that like the 4 ohm DI have a very flat impedance curve, and roughly comparable efficiency. I chose that amp because I wanted one that would provide a taste of the 300B magic but without the usual power limitations, given that I listen to a lot of classical symphonic recordings that have very wide dynamic range.

Both of the VAC Renaissance amps provide three output taps, btw, including taps that are designated as being suitable for use with 2 ohm speakers!

Finally, a minor point re Larryi’s post: Larry, I think your mention of "Brooks" should have said "Brook." Brooks was a relatively minor manufacturer of FM tuners which existed in the same ca. 1950s time frame as Lincoln Walsh’s Brook Electronics Company, to which I’m sure you were referring, and which as you know manufactured very highly regarded 2A3 and 300B-based amplifiers. Although I suspect that any Brook power amps which may be findable today would go for vastly more $ than the OP’s stated price range.

David, best of luck in your search.

-- Al