Tube virgin looking for tube amp under $3k

Quicksilver integrated and put the saved 1K into a Raven "Christmas fund"

OP if you could swing the Cary V12R and the preamp.. You would be blown away.. It has ALL the upgrades too. It is one cool amp..

I own that amp also.. You can run 4, 8, or 12 valves. You can run 6v6, 6L6, KT66, KT77, KT88, KT90, El34, and 6550s. 12BH7, 12AZ7, 12AX7, a lot of wonderful options with those valves. I can swap valves and bias in 15 min, only because it takes that long to warm up. 3 minutes for the actual work..

It can vary in wattage from 6-8 watts to 100 per channel. Single ended or A/B UL. It is the best amp I’ve ever owned for ease of repair, and sound.
It is just wonderful. The real kicker.. the cost and the LOOKS.. they are just beautiful on the outside.. You can flip the Single ended to UL, by volume down and flip the 6 switches. You don’t have to shut down.

The inside is always a friggin mess. Just lazy as all get out, the way it’s laid out.. BUT I fixed mine, somewhat.. I hate to mess with certain things.. The way the internal wire makes it sound.. I like pure silver solid core heavy point to point in a couple of places.. THAT amp, no silver other than solder an a couple bridges I built and tested.. Common rail ground look nice.. BUT Noise. That mess inside pays some dividends as far as noise reduction..

It does like a high gain low noise preamp though.. I use a Mac C20 for perfection and a C2500 for convenience.

Regards

Why do you thin k you WANT a tube amp?  Why not choose an amp that meets your musical needs and tastes?  And what makes you think tube amps are better than solid state?  It's ALL in the design.  Good solid state amps in the price range you're talking about are quite good.  And there are tube amps in that price range that are three levels below average.  

So why not just pick the best amp in your price range?  

I have to say my head is really spinning. If this site allowed stickies on forums, this should be at the top for all the newbs like me. This is a really comprehensive list of manufacturers and products. 

@bpoletti If I posted about the best amp in general up to $3k, this list would be pages and pages and pages long and I can barely process this much. 

If you’re starting down the tube path for the first time I recommend the Primaluna products already mentioned. They are autobiasing and pretty bullet proof. Each power tube will trip a protection circuit instead of blowing a resister like some tube amps if/when the tube goes bad. Less fuss for a first time tuber. For under 3k you might consider a Primaluna dialogue premium integrated. Plus they take any number of power tubes if you want to experiment. The hp is a higher wattage version but with 95 dB speakers it’s probably overkill. They are popular amps and you will see the integrated for sale quite often used. You’ll probably be able to unload quickly if you find tubes aren’t for you. Best of luck.