Before you make your final decision, I encourage you to read Roger Sanders' excellent white paper (you can find it on Sanderssoundsystems.com in his Technical Papers section) titled tubes vs. transistors. I found this extremely educational.
Want a new amp but what to get?
I'm using an Athem STR Preamp with a Rotel 1582 MKII. My speakers are Focal 948's with a JL Audio e-110. I stream Tidal and Qobuz hi-fi through a laptop. Am also open to suggestions for streamers. Budget for the amplifier could go as high as 5k maybe a little more. I'm more interested in finding a good match than spending loads of cash. I want a good quality well built amp that holds it's value and will last a long time and of coarse mix well with what I already have. Anyone have any informed suggestions?