looking for my first tube amp, help please

paysonmark

AK Subscriber
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Looking to get my first tube amp, old school. I really don't know where to begin. Brand , features and so on.
Here what I'm shooting for: low -medium power, warm sound for 70 classic rock, drive 8ohm, 500budget, serviceable / repairable. Do I need a preamp for a tuner, turntable.
thanks AK
mark
 
Dynaco Stereo 70 is the way to go.

Best selling tube amp in history, lots of resources for repair and parts, good upgrade path, excellent sound, very available, they sell easily... The list goes on. It's THE amp.
 
500 budget kills the ST70 - you used to be able to buy an original ST70 with mullard EL34s
for 200-300 on ebay, nowadays its close to 500 at a minimum. recent sold units that
are working, full set of tubes (not harvested for parallel sale), nothing missing are 400 + 40
shipping.

if you buy one that's cheaper, be prepared to fix it. I've had about 6 of them and they
all had problems simply from age. however, there are folks here who can help you
diagnose - assuming you know how or want to learn to fix. I have extra parts left
over in case you need them. they're free to you unless you're in Canada
($9.50 shipping 1 oz from US to Canada)

you could then buy a cheap tubed preamp from ebay (from china) or amazon (US shipping)
but you would go slightly over.

you need a preamp if your power amp does not have a volume control (see below)
and your preamp will need a phono unless one is built into the turntable.

so, CDP with vol control + ST70 (or amp without volume control) = OK
CDP no volume control needs preamp or power amp with volume control
TT needs phono amp with output vol control and ST70
(or preamp with phono section and output volume control)

sorry for overdoing this but these are all your options spelled out.

if you don't need insane volumes - you might want to look at the mini-power
amp from china APPJ and equivalents. check here - some AKers have
these. I use one also. upgradeable and nice thing is its less than 200 shipped

if you want a little bit more power and one that uses more "standard" tubes
like EL34 (same as for the ST70) then look for nobsound ns-13 - about 270 shipped
I use this in bi-amp configuration as the treble power amp
("power" here is a bit of an oxymoron)

I would also assume that the ST70 will continue its rise in price not to
insane levels like Marantz and Pioneer (check out 1980 receiver)
but you can get started with cheaper stuff then move up to an ST70.
 
http://www.tubes4hifi.com/bob.htm

The best buy in audio EVER!!!! And this is about as cheap as you're going to get. if you buy a vintage amp you are still going to drop several hundred dollars into restoration. At least here it's all been done. It's an easy kit to assemble and fun as well. Besides being one HELL of a great sounding and versatile amp.
 
Thanks so much. perfect info, exactly what I was looking for. Now I just need more money in my budget. Its doable.
If I go with the kits, is the 120 vs 70 worth the extra money. is it better for resale / sound / power. Should I add the stepped attenuator?
Any other info I need to be aware of?
 
If you give it time, you can find a Stereo 70 for under $500. You might also consider the Scott 299 series and the various Fisher receivers and amps. Put up a want ad on Craigslist--there's a ton of this stuff out there. If I told you how many decent tube amps I've bought recently for under $500 you'd smack me.
 
I'm a Sherwood guy. Nice gear, less of a price tag than Scott or Fisher tends to command. Not everyone digs their cosmetics, and the receivers are extremely densely packed but the integrated amps are really not a big deal to work on. I also like Bogen gear. They often had slightly quirky circuit design but it was well done, if a little unconventional at times. Since its not one of the big names it also tends to go for reasonable prices.
 
Looking to get my first tube amp, old school. I really don't know where to begin. Brand , features and so on.
Here what I'm shooting for: low -medium power, warm sound for 70 classic rock, drive 8ohm, 500budget, serviceable / repairable. Do I need a preamp for a tuner, turntable.
thanks AK
mark
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/aiqin-oldchen-tube-amps.720003/

YES, you need a separate RIAA phono preamp for vinyl, and if you go with a straight tube amp like the Dynaco dinosaurs, you need a good preamp to even have basic volume control.

If you want radio, then again also you need a separate tuner, and most likely all youll find thats inexpensive will be old school analog, not HD (most radio stations piggy back their transmitting signals with HD and analog at the same time now). A decent tuner is expensive.

Stay away from anything branded Nobsound. Quality control worst on the planet and the stock tubes are really bad.
 
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If this is for your Radio Shack Optimus 7 Speakers , I don't know how much dB they produce at 1 watt at 1 meter some searches did not helped find the specs for them, but they are big, maybe a 10 watt amp like a Raphaelite DP84 would fit for the job, for little more than 500$ if you don't include shipping, I sometimes see it at 5% rebate at 559$ on eBay, I own one, and happy with it, I don't need to set the bias, automatic cathode biased, with one resistor and cap for each output tube, another thing that make me happy to have it, is that the 6P14P-EV or Sovtel EL84M (Ruggedized EL84) output tubes don't cost more than 100$ for a quad, sound very good and last very long, I mostly listen to this amplifier among others for 5 years, maybe close to 20000 hrs and the last time I tested the tubes on my Sencore Mighty Mite VII approx 6 months ago, they were like or close to new, (Approx 106 / 120, Min. good 70), only my RCA 5Y3GT tube rectifier was worn out after 5 years, you also have a great range of 12AX7 tubes on the market that sound good to use, I did some mods, some simpler than others, and pics: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/raphaelite-dp84-el84-push-pull.711346/
 
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I don't think you can get into the ballgame for 500.

The kits are still going to cost you close to a grand... you need tubes.
Old stuff will need updating, likely tubes and some hard work.
You also need efficient speakers.

and if you want instant gratification, that will cost you too.
 
I'm a Sherwood guy. Nice gear, less of a price tag than Scott or Fisher tends to command. Not everyone digs their cosmetics, and the receivers are extremely densely packed but the integrated amps are really not a big deal to work on. I also like Bogen gear. They often had slightly quirky circuit design but it was well done, if a little unconventional at times. Since its not one of the big names it also tends to go for reasonable prices.
I believe the OP is a new comer to the world of tubes. Dealing with restoration under the hood of a Sherwood or Scott would be what I would consider "a nut cracker". Not a good place for a newbie to get started. Don't get me wrong I'm a real Sherwood S-5000 fan.
 
I began with a Scott LK-72 in 2009 with little knowledge in electronics, soldering and rebuild.With the help from a lot of folks here, one can learn fast. Depends on the interests of the OP doing things himself...
 
Thanks so much. perfect info, exactly what I was looking for. Now I just need more money in my budget. Its doable.
If I go with the kits, is the 120 vs 70 worth the extra money. is it better for resale / sound / power. Should I add the stepped attenuator?
Any other info I need to be aware of?
A preamp gives you switching between sources, volume and balance controls, and sometimes tone controls. It also matches impedance. Older preamps will have phono inputs (which will already have your RIAA equalization and extra amplification). Yet there are affordable phono stages you can add to any line input.

A tuner would be something else to add on, if you want one as a source.

Will tubes give you a "warm" sound? Perhaps. I believe that is found more in the older amps. Today's modern tube amps are more along the lines of precision sound and don't have much of the warm character associated with tubes from the past. (And they cost a fortune.) I know that my power amp (Conrad-Johnson Premier 11) is supposedly one of the last of C-J's circuit design families that leans towards a somewhat warmer tonal balance (the Premier 8, 11 and 12 are the same basic circuit, just different numbers of output tubes), and later designs get into the more modern sound. I'm pretty sure the VTA (Bob Latino) amps are of the older school of tube design. Many have raved about them, here and elsewhere, and I've read that Latino's support is top notch. As for the power you'd need, that depends on how efficient your speakers are, and how loud you'd like to listen. Personally, I would have gone with the ST120 or M125 monoblocks, but ended up getting a deal on the Premier 11 that was way too good to pass up. (It's 70w/ch.)
 
ST-70 is rocking my house right now.

If you want to play vinyl you will need a preamp, but you can use anything you might already have as a preamp, you dont need to buy any special preamp at all, a solid state one will be fine.

There's many options, but if you want old school, and you want support from the internet, then st-70 is the way to go.

If you want good support and an all integrated amp, I would try Fisher.
 
Here's another vote for Magnavox. I have two, restored, and only have around $500 into both of them. Of course the key is in finding the stock unit for a reasonable price. You'll find them on Ebay already restored but they usually are selling for inflated prices. Since you're a subscriber why don't you place a WTB listing for a tube amp. State you're budget and see what happens. Good luck.
 
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