Tubes/SS Power Amps?

Hi I had a similar need as yours...less heat (upstairs in texas get's hot fast)...but I always owned tube amps...ARC or BAT...A few years ago I bought a pair of Ayre MXRs.

Really happy. They get very warm to the touch...but don't really emit heat...like the shelf above them is just barely warm...

Not sure your price range...The new Ayre VX5 might be a great choice to...http://www.stereophile.com/content/ayre-vx-5

I agree with Mechan's post. Tubed amps do indeed make a difference that IME cannot be duplicated with a tubed preamp. However, it is my experience that really good SS gear can also sound like music. My Class A Clayton amps have a low bias switch so I can warm them up in anticipation of playing them hours later, or even play them at low bias if I am not seriously listening. They are very musical and fully balanced (as well as 300wpc all in Class A). I suspect there are at least a few other musical SS amps out there. One I always wanted to hear (but haven't) is the Jones audio amp, based on the review at the 10Audio site, although I don't believe they are balanced.

I agree with those above who think that, even with a tubed preamp, a tubed power amp makes a necessary contribution. That said, we don’t all hear, process and evaluate music the same. If the differences between SS and tubes aren’t discernible to you (which is fine - it doesn’t mean that you can’t hear, it just means that you don’t care) then by all means, unless you’re seeking a substitute for logs burning in a fireplace, buy SS. Get a relatively efficient A/AB design; but even then, your speaker’s demand for power will be a big factor, so choose an amplifier that easily provides for those demands.

You didn't mention a price point so it's impossible to give you an intelligent answer . I had a fire at my beach house last fall do to my faulty tube amps , so tubes are now out of the question , for me .
The tube amps were almost new and were made by one of the oldest manufacturers around , they did quite allot of damage to the house which is still not inhibitable . I'm hoping the place will be ready for use by mid summer .
I no it's rare , but it's something to ponder .

Not monoblocks, but I'm using a Cary 200.2 s/s amp with an ARC Pre, and it sounds very nice. Might be more power than you're looking for, but no heat to speak of at all. A/B design, has both Balanced and RCA Load is a pair of Martin Logan Theos.