hirsch

By "too rich for your blood" are you talking sound or finance? The stock EMP is an excellent amp with RS-1, IMO, and you're not going to find a smaller footprint in a tube amp.

Put a balanced cable on that Qualia, and your worries about bass should be over. The one I like best is a Headphile BlackSilver, which I terminated myself for the Qualia. Very bright at the start, but calmed down nicely. I've been meaning to write Larry and tell him how I did the termination (a bit of trial and error (OK, errors ) was involved), so he can offer the cable for sale.