I'm interested in a very small foot print of an amp. I like a warm colouration when I'm working. I will likely be using the RS-1's and the RA-1 will be far too lively. I would love something with tubes, but the EMP AE is too rich for my blood and well, out of production. THe RKV is very interesting but quite a bit larger. I will be using an iPod.

Do you have a price budget?

Price is kinda indeterminant right now, but the cheaper the better.

Gilmore Lite, maybe?

I think it would be too neutral for me for work with the RS-1's. I was thinking maybe a heavily tube rolled Maple Tree Audio if I could get one used on the cheap.

You describe the emp a.e as rich do you mean it has tonal balance on the warmer side of things which may prove too much for office use rather than home listening?

No, I think the rich tonal balance (when tubed right, otherwise it is very transparent and tonally closer to neutral, though falling on the warm side) would be perfect for work. The Gilmore Lite would be too cool for me at work.

Hey Zanth What about a used Singlepower ppx3. Not to big, inexpensive tubes ... will probably run $425-450. You can get tube adapters and convert the amp to a SLAM at any point .... and the amp has plenty of power to drive grados . The Mapletree is a good idea too.

how about a morgan jones amp?

The Blueberry Emotion+ served me very well in that exact situation. Small, nice, warm, great match with the RS1s, not so expensive you'd be afraid to leave it on a desk.

http://tubeamp.bravehost.com/MP-5.htm

That thing seems ideal for an office setup of some kind, especially if you have a computer with music on it and don't feel like bringing your ipod.

I've never heard it though, so caveat emptor.

I'm interested in a very small foot print of an amp. I like a warm colouration when I'm working. I will likely be using the RS-1's and the RA-1 will be far too lively. I would love something with tubes, but the EMP AE is too rich for my blood and well, out of production. THe RKV is very interesting but quite a bit larger. I will be using an iPod.

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.

I do love the Rs-1 with the old EMP. I used that combo for quite a while. I t was so much simpler then. I actually didn;t mind using it with bowls as it certainly had the stereotyped tube sound.

I use to like using it with a lot of live accoustic rock sets. Where pace and bass control is not a paramount issue. One of the warmest sounding combo's I have heard so far.

Strangely enough I did not like the senns with the EMP or the EMP a.e.

I still miss that combo.

hummm, RA-1 is good for the size and price for RS-1.

I was recently reminded of the Xiang Sheng, which has a nicely smallish footprint, and definitely a lush, warm tubey sound. Don't know how good a match it would be with the RS-1, though.

But yeah, kind of hard to beat the EMP.

I would suggest that depending on budget the Headroom Millett might make a great office rig, hey wait, that's what I use! It's footprint is rather small (7"w x 9"d x 5"h w/ tubes) and has nice things like 2 switchable inputs (great for compy and DAP), crossfeed and preamp outs (for speakers). I can't believe I waited as long as I did to move mine into the office. Even with the desktop PS it still doesn't seem any bigger than the PIMETA that I had there before because the footprint is nearly the same. Also, the Millett does a wonderful job of masking crappy sources like lossy MP3's but can resolve enough detail to sound excellent when called upon. After a marathon session in the office today (14.5 hours ) I know that I couldn't have made it through it without the Millett and the HD600s.

That's my 2?,

Nate