Suppose you can take only one amp with you to a desert island, which
would it be? (To make it easy, we'll assume your record collection, a
source and speakers are waiting for you, and the island is plugged in
to the universal mains electricity.) Why would it be that particular
amp?

various options. I can't choose:

I am quite happy with my Quad 44/405-2 combination.
They are old and could be more transparant but they are always musical,
dependable and effortless.
And, while I rarely have a need for tone controls, on some bad sounding
CD's I really love the peculiar Quad tone controls, esp. the filters.

An audiophile friend had the 34/306 combination, I liked this as well.
He should have never sold it. I think he now feels sorry for selling
the 306. This amp was very musical for a reasonable price.

If I would buy a new amp today (as opposed to start building), I might
be swayed by the Quad 909.

A while ago I heard a particulartly synergetic amp/speaker combination:
a Jadis tube amp combined with Magneplanars. Fluid music abounded. It
was very convincing, one of those moments when you think: I could live
with this forever and never look at other hifi again. Not a cheap
combination but in some way not crazily priced either. In the USA
Magneplanars ar ein my opinion a bargain. Unfortunately they cost at
least double in Europe...

I have heard a few Mcintosh transistor amps (their "big" integrated
amp, the 6900 I believe, and a pre/power combo). I always liked their
slightly warm, musical tone. I adore the gothic looks. Unfortunately
they cost far more than what I am prepared to pay for hifi.
I have no idea how Mc OPTs are regarded. Are they as good as, say,
Lundahl? They sure should have the experience to build world-class
OPTs. And anyway, I really like the sound of the Mc amps.

Two amps I have not yet heard but that I would like to investigate: a
Harman Kardon fully digital 5.1 receiver. The concept interests me. Yes
it's as far removed from tube audio as you can get, but I am open to
new experiences. The other one I would like to hear is the incredibly
affordable and very nicely constructed Melody SP3 tube amp.

Finally, since I am reading up on tube theory, hoping to build one this
year, hopefully I would refer to my own amp if you'd ask the same
question in 2007!
FYI, currently I am tempted by the 2 fully explained designs on the
Lundahl site: an 8W EL34 SET, and a 30W PP. The SET is probably the
most refined one, the PP should also be very good yet can be still be
used if I ever would like to build speakers with low-efficiency
scanspeak drivers, for example. Choices, choices...

Tom