I really like playing through real guitar cabs when I'm just practicing or writing music. Recording, I always go direct, but my monitors are nowhere near the quality of my cabs, so it's more enjoyable for me to go through a power amp and cab. Those cabs are two Mesa Boogie EVM12L loaded 1x12 cabs. One is a Thiele, the other is an open back. Because the EVs don't have a lot of color on their own, I find that they sound alright for my purposes at low volumes. Of course, the louder they get, the better sounding and feeling they are. Other people find EVs very sterile at low volumes, but I think having two helps with that, at least that is my perception. I also have a Port City 2x12 OS cab loaded with V30s. While I love that cab, I find those speakers really benefit from having a good amount of volume going through them, because of their signature character that cannot be accounted for at low volumes. So I would suggest something on the flatter end of the frequency spectrum that may translate better across different volumes. There will be no doubt, different opinions on this, so I certainly encourage you to find a store with a good return policy to try things out. I hope this helps in some way. Take care.