budget tube amplifier

[Wilcruz]

for under $300 - thanks in advance for info.

[PakProtector]

Hey-Hey!!!,
That price is pretty low for a quality amp. I have only a little bit more than that in my amp, but that is an outlayer of a data point.
cheers,
Douglas

[markus]

I'd say a good console amp (6V6 or 6BQ5) recapped, gone through, and updated. For $300, you could go REAL crazy on capacitors and NOS/NIB tubes of choice.

[Redboy]

Originally Posted by markus

I'd say a good console amp (6V6 or 6BQ5) recapped, gone through, and updated. For $300, you could go REAL crazy on capacitors and NOS/NIB tubes of choice.

That's almost right on the money...

Spend some time scavenging for the console amp. Read up to know what names to look for, first. Then take your time. Along the way you buy the cheap off-brand consoles for $5, $10 to lay in a stock of old tubes so you don't have to spend money on them. Then spring good money ($50?) for a great amp. Make friends with someone who loves to repair old tube radios and amps, and actually knows what they're doing. They'll do the recap and update work in exchange for some miscellaneous old speakers and tube consoles, etc that you've picked up along the way. Put the real money ($150?) into some fancy-pants capacitors, and you're in business!

Keep in mind that it's really nice to have a three car garage, an empty attic and a crawl-space under the stairs to store the old console and organ (did I mention the organs? There will be organs...) carcasses, stacks of walnut-veneer speakers that need refoam jobs, and shiny silver receivers that you came across along the way and couldn't resist. The extra space is also nice for the other great deals you stumbled on as you worked the garage sales, thrift shops, and rummage sales in your pursuit of tubey goodness.

By the way, welcome to AK, Wilcruz!

[dividebytube]

I once got a pair of Heath UA-1 12W monoblocks on Ebay for some $225 - of course I had to buy them in singles. That's sometimes the cheapest route to go since pairs sell for more than a single unit.

I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who was into tube audio back in '86-'87 when a Dynaco 70 would set you back $80 - and Mac stuff was cheap. His first tube amp was a pair of Mac30s for $120 for the pair. Heck, I bought my first Dyna 70 from him in '89 for an even $100 and that included a separate outboard regulator for the front end.

[Squidward]

Originally Posted by dividebytube

I once got a pair of Heath UA-1 12W monoblocks on Ebay for some $225 - of course I had to buy them in singles. That's sometimes the cheapest route to go since pairs sell for more than a single unit.

I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who was into tube audio back in '86-'87 when a Dynaco 70 would set you back $80 - and Mac stuff was cheap. His first tube amp was a pair of Mac30s for $120 for the pair. Heck, I bought my first Dyna 70 from him in '89 for an even $100 and that included a separate outboard regulator for the front end.

Now where did I put that time machine...

[cruisaire]

http://www.vista-audio.com/Custom/custom.htm

[digtubeess]

Originally Posted by cruisaire

http://www.vista-audio.com/Custom/custom.htm

Did you get it yet? i want to hear how you like it?

[cruisaire]

I really like it a great deal! I only have about 72 hours of use thus far, but it has opened up a bit. Tubes are just getting broken in as well. For the money and such a simple topology, it sounds way better than I had hoped. I had a spare 14 gauge power cord that I have used, nothing "medical grade" or voodoo but sufficient. Boris said it should be about 5 wpc. With my 92 dBs, I'm getting plenty of loudness, no clipping, and nothing harsh up to max volume. The acoustic stuff is crystal clear and puts me front and center in the tunes.

[jpchleapas]

Originally Posted by Wilcruz

for under $300 - thanks in advance for info.

You might want to simply save up your money for a better one, and more importantly a more reliable amplifier. There are a few inexpensive kits out there if you do not need a lot of power for your speakers. If you buy something cheap that dies right away on you or is not a good match for your speakers, then you will walk away from tube audio with a bad taste in your mouth. You can also look on ebay for some sleeper Sherwood integrated amps that sell for around your budget from time to time. You really should tell the people here what type of speakers you are using now to let them offer you better advice as to what will work, and what might not be such a good amplifier for you to look out for. Good luck! John

[Dusty Chalk]

Go Chinese. I don't think you can even get a Jolida for that kind of dough, but you might with a hybrid.

[sorenj07]

Originally Posted by Wilcruz

for under $300 - thanks in advance for info.

single-ended UL 6P14P driven by 6N23P's, with an $18 edcor OPT and a PT from eBay. SS power supply. You could do it, and it probably wouldn't sound too bad, maybe you could even manage PP for ~10W...

[cary]

If you have fairly efficient speakers, know how to solder and replace electronic parts, the Heathkit AA-32 is a great amp. Great sound and low price.

Cary Chin

[JimJ[VT]]

If you can stretch your budget a bit, the Bottlehead S.E.X kit isn't too much more expensive than that, IIRC.

Saves you the hassle of sourcing parts and kludging circuits together

[wajobu]

Originally Posted by cruisaire

http://www.vista-audio.com/Custom/custom.htm

Such pretty little amps! The first one with the blue glow is quite nice! I notice that some are "SOLD" and some have prices. Are these one-off units? Is the person selling them the person that makes them?

Thanks in advance.