Whether or not a tube amp will work for you depends a lot on how you would use the system—if you play it loud, use it in a large space, and demand extremely deep and powerful bass, that would mean utilizing high powered tube amps. But, to me, really good sounding tube amps tend to be lower in power. Although a difficult load, I’ve heard several Vandersteens, including the 2ce, with 20-40 watt tube amps and the combinations sounded great at sensible volume levels.
I have not heard Aric Audio amps, but I like what I see on their site and what I read in various forums—the build looks good and they use sensible approaches (e.g., they don’t use whimpy driver tubes and employ expensive and effective approaches like using interstage transformers).
My specific recommendation is Synthesis Audio’s A40–an integrated tube amp (40 watts per channel) with a first-rate DAC. This is a great amp and quite a bargain. It probably would work for you if you don’t demand extremely high volume. The A100 model would be e better match if high volume capability is desired.
