WHICH TUBE AMP TO BUY

I have the McIntosh. What speakers are you thinking about because with that room (depending on the particular speakers) you might want to have two 275's in mono. You have a nice sized room -- big enough to place speakers on the long wall (recommended). See my system, let me know if you have any questions.

BTW, it's really hard to read all-caps. It's a lot easier to read all-lower case, if you don't like using the shift key ;--)

Almost all Asian electronics (unless you're talking about WAVAC or Shindo or Kondo, or something in those price and performances ranges) are poorer quality copies of well-established western designs. Even the relatively decent stuff (like Cayin, Consonance, and Jolida) is often in violation of US patents and intellectual property rights! And although it might sound good at first, the internal components (resistors, caps, PCB's, chassis, and especially tubes and IC chips) are NEVER the quality you'll find in equivalent American products. So buy American whenever you can. Especially these days!! The following should be within most people's budget, especially used:

** If you like your sound so dry it makes your ears pucker, go with ARC. My experience with their integrateds has been the exact opposite of Efner's though.
** If you want full, natural, uncolored sound, McIntosh is the very best -- especially the MC275. And don't forget Manley (a lot of audiophiles do!)
** If you want/need a bit warmer-colored sound, Conrad Johnson (used ;--) and Rogue Audio are good choices.

These are all American, and in the high-moderate price range.

Other American-made products that are a bit (to a lot) more more expensive would be BAT, CAT (Convergent Audio Technology), Walcott, and the excellent new hybrids, Moscode and Aesthetix Atlas.

Do watch out for re-branded Chinese products -- like the Mark Levinson Red Rose products.

The JAS Array is an intriguing design, with no other equivalent, but it probably won't be powerful enough for your needs and difficult to get properly serviced.
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Trelja -- thanks for that link. As you indicated, the article points out why most (though not all) Chinese-made products don't measure up, even though there is nothing at all wrong with their electrical (circuit) designs.

What I found REALLY interesting however, that I didn't realize before, is that it doesn't actually take THAT much more money to improve parts quality and fabrication techniques to the point where some of these Chinese manufacturers (like Jolida) will be able to compete with (or even out-compete!) traditionally high quality brands from the US, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Germany.

Personally, I'm very happy with my system. The only major changes in the last 20 years being a new cartridge, a return to tube amplification (MC275) for my electrostats, and finally getting the CLS's up on stands. However, if I were just beginning the process of system-building, I would have no problem considering the best regarded offerings from the Far East. And in a few years from now, I'm certain there will be many Chinese brands that will become synonymous with the highest quality products; at which point, of course, they will all raise their prices ;--))

Trelja -- I have to bow to your firsthand experience, for sure. And I did note the time that's passed since that article. It seems the whole world is starting to raise eyebrows over Chinese products, from toys to pharmaceuticals!