The recommendations for vintage gear are good ones. That’s what came to my mind first when I read your post. I’ve had several ‘58-‘61 Scott (& vintage Fisher and Dynaco, etc.) units, and they were all excellent! The best integrated (IMO) was the Scott 222C. Beautiful to look at, and amazing sound.. even when compared to very good modern components. Regrettably, I sold all of the integrated Scotts. Just too much stuff at the time. I kept a Scott LK-150 tube amp however, which I ended up giving to my son. I really missed it, so I bought another one, and I’m going to hold on to this one! When my son was choosing an amplifier, we brought that 1961 Scott (restored, but not modified) to an audio store to compare to a current, Stereophile class A rated tube amp that he was considering. The Scott not only held its own against the new amp, it sounded better in two key areas: midrange (like human voice and acoustic guitar) sounded more *real*, and the *air/atmosphere* of the recordings seemed more open and expansive. The new amp had a bit tighter bass response, and a bit more power (100wpc vs 58wpc), but it wasn’t as significant as the midrange improvement of the Scott. Point is this: with Heresies, a vintage amp may be a great fit, both visually and sonically. Plus, the vintage gear (properly restored) should prove reliable, easy to repair, and at least comparable to good current amps. Good luck, and as others have stated, enjoy.
Desire to try tubes
So I am new to this have no audio contacts, and low budget it seems based on reading forum. I inherited my brothers Heresy I’s (and LP /CD collection) two years ago and started my journey. First bought a Rega P3 and Rega Fono stage running with existing 20 yo Denon 5.1. Then upgraded the Hereseys from Crites with crossovers and new tweeters (46 yo units). Months later after research and savings bought Stellar GCD and Stellar S 300 amp along with Syzygy SLF 870 sub from Underwoodwally. Nice! Next Marantz 6006 CD as transport and Underwood Emerald Physics and Core Power gold power cords and speaker cables. As able Audio Quest entry connects for all. Each move improved sound. Added a Bluesound node 2i as well only listening to Pandora though. I have no reference to options as I’ve only owned Hereseys and never heard a tube amp in a home and am very curious if a tube pre-amp would be a big plus? If I tried one could muster up to 5k. Just looking for the best sound quality I can afford.
Room is 14.6 x 14.10 x sloped ceiling 8-13’ with 5’ flat section at 13.
Room is 14.6 x 14.10 x sloped ceiling 8-13’ with 5’ flat section at 13.