Solid state amp to go with tube preamp; used ok; budget: $3k max

@hilde45

good low hours h20’s in the 4 grand range still

i think your salks will be driven well enough by the h90 and you will get a good sense of the sound provided by hegels, which in terms of signature are very consistent up and down the line, 390/590 voiced a touch richer but still very close

btw, agree with @tvad on the pass at reno hifi... no brainer for sq - question is whether 30 wpc will do the trick

**** **** **** ****

to the gan amp point, i still have my mini gan 5, that little amp travels in a usps fixed rate box, easy peasy, i can send to you to try if you want, see if the qs feeding it makes some magic

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649783884-hegel-h90/ <-- right in colorado, integrated, but you will hear what the hegel sound is, and can resell at that price in a jiffy

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649747636-ayre-ax-7e-evolution-integrated-amp/ <-- same idea as above

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649780498-yba-2-alpha-hcdt-stereo-amplifier/ <-- very sweet pure power amp, soundstage champ

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649778517-mccormack-dna-1-a-legendary-amplifier/ <-- worth a try, could easily resell if doesn't float your boat, or if it does, send to smc steve can make it sound even sweeter

@hilde45

@jjss49 mini gan 5 — that’s a really nice offer and my inclination is to say "yes!" but I suppose the question becomes whether it could possibly compete with the local Hegel.

as you well know, h90 is an integrated, your stated goal is to have your qs tube pre feed a very good ss amp to achieve a desired synergy between the two (tubey sweetness dimensionality plus solid state impact/grip/foundation)

if i were you i would try the mini gan 5 - i think you read my comments when i got it (if not i know you can find them), i think it is a prime candidate for happiness fed by a nice clean quiet tube pre

the hegel is also excellent, maybe just a teeny touch richer through the mids than the gan, but the gan is really really good, crazy good for the money, and with an ounce of tube goodness, could be winner winner chicken dinner

re the h90, @tvad mentioned rightly the pass 30 wpc rating is conservative, same for hegels i would say, your salks are not current hogs at 8 ohm nomimal, the h90 should do just fine power wise (esp in your low ceiling room), heck the boys in toronto at audio excellence canada had the h90 driving maggies clean and loud, to their surprise and endless amusement for cryin’ out loud :)

of course the mini gan 5 is 200 wpc rms into 8 ohms... so output is no issue there

btw i have a klaus’ odyssey stratos+ here too, with big blue caps upgrade, this one can’t fight its way into my rotation, you can try that too if you want, but shipping will be a bundle its a tank

relative to the best sounding nelson pass gear, usually his lower powered units, class a/b offerings from belles, odyssey, ava does not favorably compare -- if the objective is a full, natural, tonally/timbrally pure presentation (of course the classic tradeoff of spl capability vs sonic purity)

Hegal H190 should be on your short list. That is about as high as you can go on 3,000 but i would not settle for anything less in the Hegel line and there is no need to do so. I’m shooting for the H20 power amp myself

overly simplistic view imo for the op’s needs

hegel’s line has a very consistent sonic signature up and down the line, leaving aside the onboard dacs which have seen the updates over the last few years ... all units with the sound engine 2 amp circuit from rost to h90 to current line up up to the h190 sound remarkably similar when driving speakers suitable for the power levels of the amp sections - the notable exception is h390/590 duo which have a slightly richer/warmer sound signature due to a change in the preamp circuitry

in the last 3 years, i have had the h90, 160, 190, 390, 590, rost and h20 in my own system(s) - currently still have the last 2, so my statement above is from direct experience