Roger that captain!
Yes, that's about right regarding the better tube gear designs but they're pricey. Those brands already trialed by Tom, some good and some not so good are based on a certain ordinary level of tube gear, with certain exceptions though as is the case with Prima Luna (real vfm!).
Take that a step further into higher grade designs of power supplies, higher current capacity and high voltage design, one that can control, drive and grip stats to their full potential, and we have; ARC, CJ, VTL, Manley Labs, Jadis, Ayon, of course the Classic Sonic Frontiers tube gear. These are not ordinary tube gear, they're very extraordinary and will effectively drive stats full range. I've owned, sold and demoed all of these makes, and have ended up with CJ. It's just my preference, that's all.
On another note: not all SS gear is designed the same either. There are many so called high powered amps that simply run out of steam, especially when driving stats. Stats possess a notorious impedence swing, this can range from 22 Ohms in the high range and as low as 0.7 Ohms, that's less than 1 Ohm! This happens in a blink of an eye... and this is what causes many SS designs to puff out (if poorly designed). Those that are well capable; Krell, Dan D's, Parasound, Bryston, Aragon, Michi, Jeff Rowland, Pass Labs, Classe, Vitus, Luxman, Accuphase and so on are really tops! Take this a level further and we have: Dartzeel, CH Precision, Solution, Aries Cerat, Lamm and so on... these are truly extraordinary and very pricey.
So it all depends on your finances and personal tastes, listening habits and most importantly how your speakers interact with your room. It's not all about just watts and power, it's high current and highly stable voltages that will get you across the line in driving stats efficiently.
Also keep in mind, the higher powered tube amps will obviously utilise more Output tubes because that's the way Class A circuits are designed. There are very high powered tube amps from both VTL and ARC, that use an array of tubes. This is costly! CJ also has similar configs in their previous tube gear, where each monoblock typically has at least 8 Output tubes in Ultra-linear config per channel. However, of lately CJ has put out their new ART series amplifiers. The ART300's use just 4 KT150's but are capable of 300w. This sort of high power you'll never use but the ART300's are an awe-inspiring experience when driving stats full range. CJ also has the ART108A's (160w Class A) but those have 8 KT88 tubes per channel. I had the chance to audition these fine monoblocks in July driving CLX's, it was beyond superb!!! Price tag also superb.
This is what I refer to as extraordinary.
Anyway, it all depends on your preferences, and budget, hope that helps.
Cheers, RJ
