I'm not a tube guy yet, but I am heading that direction (in the process of receiving some Quad II-forty monoblocks).
That said, I can give my opinion on a couple of pieces of non-tube gear.
I would highly recommend auditioning a Rega Elicit. The presentation is fast and non-fatiguing. What this amp does well will not be apparent on first listen-- a good thing. I have one and enjoy it immensely, but I thought I would also see how tubes perform, and thought the Quads would be a safe choice.
Also, I would recommend that your friend consider a Quad 99/909 combo or a Quad QC-24/909 combo. The 909 is a killer amp and emphasizes the midrange. I sold mine a while back and wished I hadn't on more than one occasion. The 99 pre has some pretty cool tone control options (I know we aren't supposed to like tone controls, but they are defeatable.) that may be helpful since they aren't the garden variety "bass" and "treble" tone controls.
I have also heard good things regarding the Peachtree Nova and Decco's driving solid-state amps. Underwood Hifi just announced a mod to the pre-amp section to make it better as well. Walter is pretty easy to deal and can provide some good advice.
One last option would be to look at Pathos gear. Something like a Classic Mkii or Mkiii should be sufficient. If your friend can locate a pair of Classic's they can bridged into mono as well, but this probably isn't necessary since the Classic already puts out 70 wpc. I have also seen other Pathos gear used well within this price range.
Hope this helps.
PMB
That said, I can give my opinion on a couple of pieces of non-tube gear.
I would highly recommend auditioning a Rega Elicit. The presentation is fast and non-fatiguing. What this amp does well will not be apparent on first listen-- a good thing. I have one and enjoy it immensely, but I thought I would also see how tubes perform, and thought the Quads would be a safe choice.
Also, I would recommend that your friend consider a Quad 99/909 combo or a Quad QC-24/909 combo. The 909 is a killer amp and emphasizes the midrange. I sold mine a while back and wished I hadn't on more than one occasion. The 99 pre has some pretty cool tone control options (I know we aren't supposed to like tone controls, but they are defeatable.) that may be helpful since they aren't the garden variety "bass" and "treble" tone controls.
I have also heard good things regarding the Peachtree Nova and Decco's driving solid-state amps. Underwood Hifi just announced a mod to the pre-amp section to make it better as well. Walter is pretty easy to deal and can provide some good advice.
One last option would be to look at Pathos gear. Something like a Classic Mkii or Mkiii should be sufficient. If your friend can locate a pair of Classic's they can bridged into mono as well, but this probably isn't necessary since the Classic already puts out 70 wpc. I have also seen other Pathos gear used well within this price range.
Hope this helps.
PMB