If your main area of concern is the bass, you may need to consider changing your speakers instead of the amp. However, with regards to changing your rotel amps, you might find that your rotel excells at certain types of music than others and so does the valve audio(see the review on va website). With this in mind, you may want to explore the idea of "building" more that one system, if you music tastes are beyond certain genres. My understanding is that a valve audio is not sutitable for rock/dance music. I would advise you to have an auditon with all types of music that you like playing. I have listened to va pre/power combination(cannot recall which model) at sfriend's house and he was playing an lp record . My point is eloguently illustrated in the December 2009 issue of Hifi World. On page 52, under the "letters "section, the letter to the editor goes as follows:
"Two guys are arguing in a bar: One has an all "Naim" solid state sound system worth 25k sterling and another has an all tube/valve system (Audio Note) of the same value. However, the two systems sound very different. Their question to the editor is: which system is more accurate to to the original sound. The editors' respones(two editors) are not so clear, but to summarise:
1) you should relax and stop thinking about it. It is a bit like the meaning of life really: by the time you have worked it out it is too late. Best not bother.
2) Logicaly, there can only be one "truth", and the better hi-fi gets. the closer it should take us to it.
3) However, even high-end systems are a long way to the truth and lower end systems are even further.
4) Designers "horn in" on a particular aspect of sound (what he would argue as the defining aspect) and go all the way to achieve this.
