hey all! i am looking to make a serious upgrade to my setup in the coming months, and i am seeking advice on picking the right amp for me. budget-wise i am thinking $5000-$7000, though i am not opposed to buying used if i find the perfect match.
right now i am primarily a headphone listener but since this is a significant investment for me i am not looking for just a headphone amp, i am looking for something with enough headroom to drive all the headphones and speakers i could reasonably get my hands on as an upper middle class hifi nerd. the primaluna evo 300 is my current frontrunner, and i would consider its specs to be generally appropriate for my needs. i have also been eyeing the cary 300sei which i know is particularly well-loved, as well as the audio research i/50. i am not married to any one variety of tube, el34s and 300bs are all great as far as i’m concerned. :)
at this price point i am also hoping for something with as much point-to-point wiring as possible, i consider some pcb usage perfectly acceptable as in the evo series but i would prefer to avoid an amp that is all fr4 inside! i am also not really looking for a hybrid amp, i would prefer all tube.
a fairly major sticking point for me here is the ability to run either triode or ultralinear. i have an extremely diverse music collection that ranges from jazz and classical to harsh noise, and it is both in lossless and vinyl format. i feel like this would be a significant advantage for me and based on my research it seems as though the people with this capability do appreciate having it, but i’m not really sure if it’s really as important as i feel it is.
thank you in advance!
