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Inexpensive Tube Amp....please help (1 Viewer)

Chris Trot

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
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81
I'm thinking about getting a tube amp to use with a pair of CBM 170's, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I currently have an Outlaw 1050.
 

Brett DiMichele

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2001
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3,181
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Brett
Chris,
When you find a Tube Amp that will put out moderate class A
Power "inexpensively" please let me know! I want 4 of them
in MonoBlock form :)
Tube gear is very Niche` market stuff and very pricey. And
unless you have a 92+ DB Sensitive speaker most tube amps
won't cut it (most tube amps are 7-15 watts) when you get
into 100-400 watt tube amps your looking at tens of thousands
of dollars.
How about a very good high end Solid State amp mated with
a really good Tube Pre Amp ? That would give you the warmth
and the reliability and sheet output of Solid State.
 

Brett DiMichele

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2001
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Real Name
Brett
Chris,


I forgot to ask what "Inexpensive" is? What price point are
you looking at? What type of tube gear do you want? You can
go Low power Pure Class A, Stereo, Mono etc.

What are your wattage requirements? What's the sensitivity
of the speakers?
 

Mark Leitch

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 4, 2002
Messages
125
There are many "good value" tube amps that can drive some pretty inefficient speakers. Some recs:

o someone sold a Counterpoint NPS 200 for 600USD on Audiogon recently. It is a tube hybrd... nice amp.
o something like a Music Reference RM9 for about 1400USD used is very nice.
o something like a Sonic Frontiers Power 2 is a bit of a brute and can drive many, many speakers (about 2k used).
o in the realm of obscenely cheap, the ASL waves do require 90db+ efficiency speakers but are only 200/pair. I used to have some, and they are very nice.
o in the realm of excellent value, a Dynaco Stereo 70 (about 300USD used) can be very good.

I will ignore all the tube vs solid state arguments (this is about enjoyment after all)... but there are many "reasonable" choices for tube amps.

M.
 

kevitra

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
364
Tube stuff does not have to be pricey. Companies like Jolida and Antique Sound Labs are making decent equipment at good prices.
If you want really budget, the Antique Sound Labs (ASL) Wave 8s are $200 for a pair. They are 8w. They could easily drive my ACI Sapphire IIIs (90db) to decent levels.
They roll off the top quite a bit, but for $200 you can't expect miracles.
I now have a Jolida 302b integrated tube amp (50w x 2). I picked it up used for $600. I am very happy with it. It has plenty of power for me and sounds great.
nOrh has an integrated tube amp for $400 new.
Jeffssoundvalues.com sells the Wave 8s (and other ASL equipment).
http://www.jeffssoundvalues.com/Inventory/Preamps.htm
Have fun!
 

John Beavers

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 1, 1998
Messages
259
If you're looking for high powered 2-ch tube amps, at what I would consider a reasonable price, $1749, check out the AVA Fet-Valve hybrid tube amp. It's 160 wpc. They make a 250wpc version for $2099.
 

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