Never Owned a Tube Amp and Want Advice

A small tip that I didn't know coming from a SS background.

Don't run your new tube amp without a load attached as it can destroy the unit. You may be especially tempted to do so right when to get it as you would like to A/B it against your old SS equipment while keeping both at operating temperature.

Fortunately I got lucky and didn't destroy my Frankenstein 300bs when I did this many years ago.

Yes, tube amps are sort of the opposite of solid state when it comes to running with no load or accidentally shorting the speaker leads (big problem for solid state, no big deal with tube gear).  

Another helpful hint for someone auditioning with tubes for the first time:  If you turn off the tube amp to switch things up, wait a few minutes before turning it back on.  Quickly cycling from on to off to on again can cause some tube amps to misbehave.  I've heard some loud crackling and I have seen rectifiers put on a light show when that is done.

I have owned every type of tube amps out there 
key questions what are your speakers efficiency,
room size, kind of music , how loud spl level
as a Former Audiostore owner these are key .
SET is the most pure or direct signal then triode, pentode.
SET  typically is under 10 wpc, or under 20 in Parallel.
Class A triode ,pentode noticably more tactile and closer to live 
using No global feedback .vs ultralinear which uses feedback which = added distortion for best class A and deal IMO .
Ayon from Austria have several big advantages They are a pure 
class A design , their integrated amplifiers are excellent 
and USA tube  is offering great deals with things being slower then normal.I just bought another one.
the heart of a tube amp the transformers and Ayon use world class 
Lundahl , also no vibration distortion causing sheet metal,all machined aluminum , and trouble free most important tube biasing 
Ayon is the only one that uses a microprocessor to monitor voltage as well tube wear, if It finds a tube failure the amp blinks goes into mute and circuit disconnectsFor safety, In back screen will tell which tube to replace , shut down,   Replace tube, turn back on hold button in for 10 seconds it takes about 10 minutes and all tubes put in memory and running optimum ,once a month you recalibrate tubes,last longer and and optimum Sonic MA voltages. A bargain IMO
for all the precision vs  China specials ,ultralinear Cheap toroidal transformers ,and have the nerve to charge up to $5K.  C core transformers like Lundahl are recognized as the standard for a top
quality vacuum tube product.

IMO, the best quality of sound is from tube amp Single Ended 3-5 W with full range speakers more 92 dB , direct connected to outputs, without crossovers, that press the sound. I use 8 inch full range for 50-15000 Hz and 12 inch bass speaker for 30-50 Hz. I have also open buffle  with 12 inch full range Electro Voice, direct connected to my amp SE 2A3 RCA. The sound is with quality for a level higher than every Push Pull amp with big power, that never You will use. Stay away from EL34, 6L6, KT88, 6550....tubes with sharp sounding......that people uses for guitar amps. If You need more power, You can use SE GK71, GU 81 .....with power more 20-30 W.....

FWIW, here's the description of the 60 wpc amps from Quicksilver. Notice the comment about both being able to handle difficult speakers AND also having the finesse of a low powered amplifier. I've put some lovely KT77s in mine, and it's really does a delicate job with much of the acoustic I listen to, but has filled the room easily with orchestral stuff. Speakers are 87db, 8 ohm.

Via Quicksilver:

The new sixty watt amp retains the high damping factor and low distortion of the Horn Mono but with enough power to handle inefficient and difficult to drive speakers. The new power transformer has the same high grade core material as the output transformer. Also a new circuit increases the power tube bias at higher powers allowing the amp to have low distortion all the way up to clipping. At reduced powers this circuit gives the efficiency, finesse and delicacy of a low powered amplifier.

Power Output 60 watts into 4 or 8 ohms
Power Bandwidth 14 Hz to 70 KHz
Damping Factor 20
Input Sensitivity 1.2 volts
Input Impedance 100 Kohm
I.M. Distortion: less than 0.5% at 60 watts
Tube Complement two KT88, 1-12AX7, 1-12BH7
Power Consumption 100 watts at idle 200 watts at full power