gillatgh ...
How attached are you to those B&W speakers? I know they can sound wonderful, but they're hard to drive and take a lot of (expensive) power, right? Why not opt for a much more efficient speaker and drive them with 30 - 60 watts of really good tube power? How about a used pair of Legacy Signature III's, an ARC Classic 60 or Classic 30 (if you can find one) and a good tube preamp?
A nice pair of Signature III's go for under 2k on the used market. An ARC Classic 60 goes for under 2k. Couple it with, say, an ARC REF-3 for @ $4500.
I'm not using the Classic 60 anymore but have one as a spare. I hooked it up and wow, very musically involving. Not as articulate as the REF-75-se, but knocks your socks off from a musical standpoint.
Click on my icon, then double click on the lower picture to see what I'm talking about.
Take care ...
Frank
How attached are you to those B&W speakers? I know they can sound wonderful, but they're hard to drive and take a lot of (expensive) power, right? Why not opt for a much more efficient speaker and drive them with 30 - 60 watts of really good tube power? How about a used pair of Legacy Signature III's, an ARC Classic 60 or Classic 30 (if you can find one) and a good tube preamp?
A nice pair of Signature III's go for under 2k on the used market. An ARC Classic 60 goes for under 2k. Couple it with, say, an ARC REF-3 for @ $4500.
I'm not using the Classic 60 anymore but have one as a spare. I hooked it up and wow, very musically involving. Not as articulate as the REF-75-se, but knocks your socks off from a musical standpoint.
Click on my icon, then double click on the lower picture to see what I'm talking about.
Take care ...
Frank