Tube amps under $7500

@hickamore 

just had a thought:  what about bi-amping?  You could use SS on bass, and would give you more tube choices for treble.

@auroravengeance 

Yeah, not sure myself.  Have only heard Lab12 at audio shows, so really hard to tell.  I did see a Part-Time Audiophile review that suggested the integrated was somewhat “warm” and “tubey”, but definitely YMMV.  I’m a big fan of some of the European and Japanese niche companies out there that provide alot of value for $ (e.g., Synthesis, Triode Corp., Lab12, Audio Hungary, Fezz Audio, etc.) Hard to go with ARC, VAC, BAT or CJ and meet the OP’s budget.  Me? I have 3 tube integrateds: Synthesis, Leben, and Triode Corp.  

Lab12 Suara.  $5400 (new).  60w.  4 ohm taps. Balanced.  Cool factor.  

definitely not expert in this area, but four different thoughts:  (1) some tube amps come with gain adjusters.  (2) if two amps have same gain, no issue.  (3) if different gain, you can lower gain on higher gain amp thru use of resistor on interconnect. (4) use an external passive preamp (attenuator) for the higher gain amp (For example, Lab12 sells one for $750.)  Again, just brainstorming with you, am sure others know much more about this, but if it works, you could save a bunch by getting a relatively cheap class d amp for lower end, and then you can splurge on a relatively low power tube amp for tonality at the high end.

"I look upon the pleasure which we take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights in human life. . . It gives us a great insight into the contrivance and wisdom of Nature, and suggests innumerable subjects for meditation."

Marcus Tullius Cicero 

@larryi 

The Air Tight stuff is so beautiful, and so expensive….I love Synthesis, but I think you already noted that they are almost exclusively integrated amps.  For Synthesis, the only possibility given OP budget might be the Roma 98dc mono amps, which also have balanced xlr input.  Those would be very cool, and they’re not huge.

+1 @hickamore 

But now you’ve got me cross-walking two separate lists: 

1) Countries with 100-120 volts /60 hz; and

2) Countries in the “Full Democracy” category of the Economist’s annual Democracy Index.

Alas, as of 2023, it’s just Canada, Australia, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and Costa Rica.  If only we could get Ireland off that damn 230 volt grid!

@hickamore 

btw, the Roma line has wood faceplate, but a silver-ish finish is available.  And Synthesis does a beautiful job on their wood finishes.  See picture of my Synthesis integrated under my Big Rig pictures on my systems page.

@audiotroy 

You carry both Synthesis and Legacy, right?  Any experience with the Roma 98dc?

by distributor, if you mean deja vu, pretty sure their website is not up to date.  my understanding is that the Prime series - which includes the Ovation and my Ensemble integrated - has been discontinued.  But @audiotroy will know better of course.  in the meantime, i’d recommend you look at the synthesis site (synthesis.co.it).

@hickamore 

yeah, vu is not really a distributor, though he’s listed as such by Synthesis.  He’s a dealer - from whom I bought my amp.  One of the reasons Synthesis has been way below the radar screen in the U.S. is that they’ve never had an actual U.S. dealer.  No presence at audio shows, no Stereophile reviews, etc.  The upside is you don’t pay a premium for the brand.

+1 @larryi 

My listening values are pretty much the same.  I have no experience of Legacy speakers but I take the OP at his word that they are non-negotiable.  That’s why I suggested the possibility of bi-amping, as one approach to solving these simultaneous equations.  But for me, with my listening values, if I wanted to experience the magic of tubes, I’d think about easier-to-drive speakers.  Having said that, the OP is taking a nicely deliberate approach and might just be able to get it all with the Legacies and the right tube amp.  And I’m enjoying trying to help. 

OP, early in this thread, @bluethinker recommended the Audio Hungary P200.  I’ve heard very good things about this company.  Am not sure their stuff tilts warm, but wanted to make sure it got your attention.  Build quality is superb; friend of mine is a dealer and loves their stuff.  And it meets all of your other criteria - price, balanced out, silver, 100w….

@hickamore 

one more thought:  in the manual for your speakers, there’s actually a pretty lengthy discussion of biamping, and combining tubes with SS.  In that context it references something called an “amp balancer” available from your Legacy dealer.  I couldn’t find anything else on the www about it, but you might want to reach out to your dealer.  

it’s very much like a net present value calculation of an investment that yields income.  the npv = discounted cash flows + resale value.  so for a piece of gear, the “cash flows” are the annual benefits of enjoying the gear.  so, one piece of gear could have higher annual cash flows (greater enjoyment), but lower resale.  because of those cash flows, it may actually be a much better investment.  In other words, resale value tends to be overrated.  As as with any investment,  it often depends on what discount rate you assume, lol!