Tube amps that kick ass?

cayin or vas. you need to hear to believe.

I think of the rock bass you are looking for is actually frequencies above the subwoofers in the 5A, a lot of apparent bass is above 30Hz so you still do need a good tube for rockin bass. The best bass I have heard from a tube amp was the CAT JL2 - though the Atma-sphere with the right speakers does produce really good bass, I don't Vandersteen is the right speaker though.

Kora Kosmos or Kora Titan Monoblocks

I heard some Audio Research gear make some truly beautiful music with the Vandy 5's.

Keithmundy,
My Luxman MQ-88 can drive my Verity Fidelio Encores to incredible SPLs in a room that is 15 feet wide, 25 feet deep, with a ceiling height of 8.5 feet. The MQ-88 is a pure class A at 40 watts per side into 8 ohms. In my experience, either that is an overly conservative rating, or those are some of the most robust 40 watts I have ever "heard" . . . !

Given those speakers, if I were flying blind, I would try hard to get a demo of some high-powered OTLs, maybe with autoformers (disclosure: no affiliation or ownership history with either). I expect the 450 VTLs would do you fine. I would, however, be wary of using amps at the low end of the recommended amplification range if you want the speakers to come to life.

You might ask what other Vandy 5A owners use for tube amps - you might draw a few out of the woodwork.

My new dedicated sound room (theater and 2 channel) will be 17.5 feet wide by 22 feet deep.

Luxman has a relatively new offering, the MQ-88, that I use in my primary system. I love this amp! If you have an opportunity to audition it, I suggest you do, as it seems to meet all of your criteria, depending on what speakers you will be driving and the size of your listening room. It sells new for $8000.

did nobody said KR Kronzilla?

Thanks to all.

Ya, I should have mentioned the speakers that I am driving...

I have a pair of Vandersteen 5A's. And now that I think about this.... the 5A's have a powered sub woofer. Not that I didn't know this already.... I just didn't consider this fact when I wrote my initial post. So anyway, I guess the tube amps won't actually be helping much in that area - da.

The 5A's are rated at:

FREQUENCY RESPONSE
22Hz to 30kHz + or - 2dB

EFFICIENCY
87dB at 1 meter with a 2.83 volt input.

RECOMMENDED AMPLIFIER
40 TO 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms for the upper section, 400-watt subwoofer amplifier built in.

IMPEDANCE
6 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum.

CROSSOVER
100Hz, 600Hz, 5000Hz and adjustable H.F., 6dB per octave.

Just for the record, 'Solid, tight bass' does not describe real bass- that sort of description makes me think of transistor bass, which is to say it has punch but no definition. If you want definition, you have to have tubes.

A lot also depends on the speaker load. If you want the tube amp to have as much slam as possible, avoid speakers that are 4 ohms in the woofer region. Your tube amp dollar will be better represented by a speaker that is at least 8 ohms. The output transformer will have better bass extension and greater efficiency.

Cary 120s I had one, now have a V12R. Both kick ass. Even my 92 year old neighbors are starting to like Johnny Winter.

Coincident Dragon PP211 is the most dynamic tube amp I've expirenced. May be difficult to audition but well worth the effort. I'm not exagerating by saying there really is nothing like it

If you are looking with a budget of $10k, but preferably $5k or under, I'll chime in. I have a pair of VTL MB 450 Signatures from several years back. I like them very much and they boot excellent tuchus, even when done in triode mode with a measly 225 watts, they do very well (450 watts in tetrode of course). With the bigger models, you just get more fanny-kicking prowess. The older 450s should be available used for <$4k, which is a lot of LPs cheaper than the 750s.

Of course, several of the other choices will be OK depending on your speakers. In fact, what is necessary to kick sufficient tuchus will depend ENTIRELY on your speaker load.

As a case in point, someone mentions the Wavac 805s used. There happen to be a pair for sale. Cool! But note they are for sale because they don't meet the needs of the seller's current-hungry speakers. The Cary 120s may be a great amp - never heard it - but I have had a pair of speakers before where they would have been less preferable than the VTL 450s (OTOH, the Wavacs would probably do more than justice to my current speakers).

IF you have speakers with sensitivity in the 80s, and require current, and they have an input impedance dip down to a low 1-handle (like Martin Logan electrostats), then I have not seen many large tube amps which will meet that need other than big VTLs. If, on the other hand, the speakers are low-mid 90s dB with a more benign impedance curve, you could probably easily do OTLs with an autoformer.

A reasonably interesting thread on the subject came up last year and is here. Furthermore, the atma-sphere website has several white papers which make for interesting reading and may help inform your choice as regards tube amplifier topology.

The big Manleys and VTLs are always good choices. However, one that flys under the radar is a pair of Canary Audio CA-160 monoblocks. These will give you all the tube goodness but can deliver the mail in respect to dynamics and bass control. They thrash my Piegas around like nobody's business.

Shakey

Wavac MD-805m used.

All depends on what speakers you're driving.

used Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk 3(140wpc@8ohms) for ~$7k-$9k or for a little north of $10k used, if you can ever find them, Atma-Sphere MA-2 Mk II (220wpc@2/4/8ohms)

Audio Research Reference 300 MKII monoblocks used ~$10k

Wolcott Presence 220M (220wpc@4ohms) - famous for driving difficult large electrostatic speakers like Soundlabs really well.

used Bat VK-150SE monoblocks ~$9.5k

Here's another vote for the Cary 120S. It is totally kick-ass in my system (replaced the NuForce Ref 9V2 SE). In my view it sounds better from bottom to top and it's especially kick-ass in the BASS! That said, it is not as quiet electrically or mechanically as many other amps. But when the music starts, I surely don't notice as I'm mesmerized by its wonderful dynamic and musical presentation.

THE CARY WITH RIGHT OUTPUT TUBES AND JENSEN CAPS ORGANIC AND VERY LAYER TUBE SOUND ....EXCELLENT

The Cary 120s is a knockout..UL/Triode switching(120/60wpc)

Try looking for a used CJ Premier series amps. They run in your price range and are very good. I certainly am happy with mine.

Thank you gentlemen. I will eagerly look into all three of those recommendations.

Used Quicksilver M-135s, but they are hard to find.

I think you would be extremely happy with a Manley Neo-Classic 250. You should be able to find one here for 5000 or less.
I have been using one since 2002. Does everything that I could ask for and has been extremley reliable. Or use up more of your budget on the Neo-classic 500.

The easiest question to come across Audiogon forums in several months.

VTL 750 is the answer and VTL 1250 if you have a bit more to spare than the 10K budget you listed.