What is the best integrated tube amp under $3k ?

Personally, I would keep the JOR. So far, I've not found anything that eclipses a Jadis, though I want to try an Audio Note.

I recently got my DA30 up on its feet, after spending a couple of years on the shelf gathering dust while I used my DA60 instead. My friend, Jeff Carder, owner of CarderSound speakers, was over my home a couple of times and listened to the DA30 in my system. He commented that it's one of the best amplifiers he's ever heard, and just HAS to have it. I can't say that anything about it jumps out, but we both feel that it just plain sounds more natural than anything else we know.

If you are intent on replacing the JOR, Clio09's VAC suggestion is a good one. I'll add Air Tight and Audio Note to what I believe should be a very short list.

Saki70, the Air Tight I listened to was the EL34 based unit. In fact, I A/B'd it at the dealer I bought my JOR from in 1999. I was more than happy with both of them, one of the reasons I chose the Jadis was the ability to also play EL34 types in addition to the KT90 it came with. I was told the Air Tight couldn't go up to run the larger KT88 type, but maybe it could? It's possibly listed as a power amplifier, but I remember it having level controls, if I'm not mistaken. It may have been somewhere in the $3500 range at the time, though I'm sure it's gone up. I guess I kind of meant the means to buy one would be the used route.

The Audio Note was a 300B based integrated about 1.5 years ago. For whatever reason, the name Meishu sticks out in my mind, but again, I'm not 100% sure that is the one. The dealer said the price was in the $3750 neighborhood. Nevertheless, that surely was a special amplifier.

Mattzack2, thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.

There's likely a VAC dealer in your area. From my experience, Audio Note is a bit more difficult to find, and Air Tight even harder.

What tubes are you running in your JOR? Once I got replaced the KT90 with KT88 or EL34 in my Jadis, I felt there was nothing much out there to compete with the sound I was getting.

The Ars Sonum is another outstanding choice in a tube integrated amplifier. With the Merlin loudspeakers, it's simply a match made in heaven.

I think the KT88 are a good combination in the JOR, you get much more liquid mids than the KT90 and a lot more bass than the EL34. It's probably the best way to go in this amp. With my DA30 and DA60, I like the EL34, but those amps have more on the bottom because of their heavy duty iron, along with 5751 drivers.

My own experience is that I didn't realize how wonderful my JOR was until someone wanted to buy it, and I retubed it. Moving away from my JOR caused me to get back into Jadis on a very big scale, as I had to return to it quickly.

One suggestion if you do decide to keep the JOR is to drill additional holes in the bottom plate (there are already a bucketful of them) inline with the resistors and potentiometers involved in the biasing procedure.

As the disassembly and (especially) putting the amplifier back together are the most difficult and labor intensive steps, these holes would turn what is one of the most involved biasing procedures in audio into a simple no muss, no fuss 3 - 5 minute affair. Were I Jadis, I would implement it myself, as it would really make life easier for the JOR owners out there.