teajay is onto something here... I have the luxury of having this amp in-house, and it's an absolute gem. The textures and colors are vivid, along with being "warm and woolly" at the same time. Incredible decay, richness, and resolving timber, with a naturalness that goes with the flow. Male voices have that "chest", image depth is palpable, and soundstaging is excellent. It has that special tube-like sound, along with dynamics, pace, and a window into the recording that would make Windex envious.
The amp is dead silent. The drive (current) feels strong for its power rating.
Seems like a delight for tube rollers. With only 1 pre-amp tube and 2 power tubes, it offers a really fun way to "roll" through options. For now, I've only listened to it with the stock tubes. I'm looking forward to the upside of exploring a number of NOS options. Add to this that it's hand-built in the USA, and it's a great addition to the audiophile landscape.
If this amp is a good fit for the power-envelope requirements of your speakers/listening environment, it's hard to think of a better value. It would require a significantly higher investment to improve on.
In terms of price-to-performance ratio, this amp nails the diminishing returns equation.
