Newbie Can't Decide Which Tube Amp


Just had a Bottlehead tech build me a BeePre preamp and an MM phono. My speakers are Sonus Faber Concertos Homage (rated at 87dB sensitivity) and my budget is $4K- give or take. I am not much of a bass person. Mostly classical, appreciate the Blues, Latin, and occasional classic rock. The tech is adamant that I look for a used EAR 534.

I appreciate your feedback in advance.
ckenr
I own the PrimaLuna Dialogue Premier HP with the stock tubes.  I use it with Focal Diablo Utopia III's.  I really like it, it is hassle-free, sounds great, and can switch from Pentode to triode mode with a remote. 75wpc with the stock tubes. I highly recommend it.
op

i have been curious about the carver unit as well -- carver is definitely a mad genius always thinks creatively -- but between my linear tube audio and arc units, i just don’t see the need for trying another tube amp

that being said, for ~4 grand, primaluna is an obvious choice, a lot of value for the $ -- or an older arc like a vt100 series or ref110 - these make zero apologies to current day tube amps much more than what they cost used today

a steal at the asking price .... https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649698504-audio-research-vt-100-mk-iii/ ... if your space constraints allow

with sonus fabers, i think you want more high end sparkle in the feed to the speakers, i would go with an arc unit over primaluna
Frequently available used in your price range:
  • Music Reference RM200 MK1 or 2
  • Manley Snapper monoblocks
  • Quicksilver VR4 monoblocks
  • McIntosh MC275 MK V or VI
Sensitivity of Your speakers is bad. Id like to advice You a new idea.
The best tube amp is cl. A Single Ended SE 2A3, 300B, 6BQ6... with output power about 8-10-12 W,.....not 
PP McI, Pr. Luna..... and use hi sensitivity speakers 94-96 and more dB and that small power is enough for 1000-1500 sq.f.
With big expensive brand amps You will spend too much money for power, that never you will use.
SE, IMO, is the best sounding mode for tube amp....
This is my first time on a conversation forum. How can I respond to a specific post without bothering others else with unrelated conversations?
Once I corrected the specs in the original posting, I've been receiving some really good tips and that's how my confusion started: Once I realized that EAR's are hard to find, I started reading about these recommended brands, they all have rave reviews!

And now look at the latest posting, a single-ended amp with 8-12 watts for a 30-200 watts rated pair of speakers?
I am a retired grocer. I can pick a good cantaloupe out of the bin about %90 of the time at a rate of one cantaloupe every 10 seconds. How can an 8-12 watts amp drive a min. 30 watts rated speaker? Aren't all watts the same? Please excuse my level of sophistication!