I havent auditioned any amps inc. the 88 Iam going to S.S. tubes are a pain in the ass.(my 99 phono hiss)I know its not a problem with amps but still! My lovely old Dyna stock with N.O.S 7199s sounds great but Im ready to move up.My top choices now are still the Aleph-3,BEL mk 2 or 3 amd the Clayton S-40 This amp looks like a good contender.Any comments? By the way Ive given up on the Phono hiss.When I got the 99 my dealer Mario,owner Toys from the Attic sent me the 99 With phono to compare with my Black Cube.I chose the 99phono.They sounded about the same and I thought I could end the hiss with LN tubes.NOT! Anyway my friend,Mario is going to trade me back my badly missed ugly cube.