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ads22
07-16-2008, 07:51 PM
:7: hola mi amigos is there any body out there that can suggest a nice warm tube amp,
reliable brand under 300 bucks.ive heard a few but have always ran SS seperates.connecting to KG 5.5 /a/d/s.thanx

bobsticks
07-17-2008, 12:06 AM
That's a rough price-point but I think it can be done if you're willing to go used. Some of the guys over at the 'Gon use equipment from a Chinese company called Dared. You also might want to check out some older, reconditioned stuff on ebay...maybe some vintage Harmon Kardon or Dynaco gear.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

basite
07-17-2008, 03:07 AM
dared is a good suggestion,

but definately also look at Yarland, amazing products starting at slightly under $300 I think...

www.yarland.com

with your budget, I'd definately go used or chinese though...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

mlsstl
07-17-2008, 11:27 AM
If you don't mind a bit of leg work at estate sales, that might be an alternate route. A few years back I picked up a Bell tube stereo integrated amp (probably early 1960s) for $15. It was about 15 watts a channel with EL84 output tubes. My son still uses it to power a set of LS3/5a clones and just loves the way it sounds.

ads22
07-17-2008, 06:25 PM
ill definetly start looking more,im sure i can find a tube set used for that price(300+)
I would prefer a well rounded USA or EU type that can used in series.well that means i'll need to get 2 then! HI PHONICS TIME, money well spent,maybe bogen or rotel can give me the depth im looking for in sound for a budget muscian.Babys diaper supply will have to be rationed though,and bread and water would work for awhile.Glad to be here learning
thank you all for being here and your reply:9: JAM ON ttttttTING!!

Mr Peabody
07-17-2008, 07:07 PM
Didn't Jolida have a hybrid integrated that sold new for $550.00? If you could find one of those used it should be your price.

mlsstl
07-17-2008, 07:13 PM
Caution, amps cannot be used in series, perhaps except for some very unusual exceptions. Amps should also not be used in parallel (again there are some exceptions, but would be extraordinarily rare in home installations.)

A few stereo amps can have their left/right outputs bridged to mono in order to increase power, but the amp needs to be designed for that. At the $300 level that is not something I'd be looking for.

ads22
07-17-2008, 07:43 PM
multi amping setup,terminally logical,I have three amps now to power 6-10(3-5pairs) like rear surround, subs,bookshelf ect.You know SS amp dont really have a heart,that why I want to experience a tube atmosphere.I like acoustic music and space in my tunes.And I dont like it under 20db.I'm just worried the tubes wont hold up like a transformer.Is that fair? I have never really played vintage tubes or new so school me! thanks fellas!:thumbsup: Wall O Sound ADS 22

Mr Peabody
07-17-2008, 08:36 PM
I wouldn't use tubes for HT, too high of maintenance and really I don't think would sound right unless you had all tubes which would be expensive. Even then I don't know if you'd enjoy it for HT. There are a good number of amps that would sound full body in solid state. Really though for what it sounds like you are looking for I think you will have a hard time finding it in your budget. And, trust me on this, if you want to experience tubes and not walk away disappointed, you can't do it on the cheap. I'm not saying you can't find a good deal, it's just cheap tube gear will either have a terribly narrow frequency response or be noisy, or both. I'm not familiar with the brand Basite suggested. Integrated tube amps can be found reasonable and some are good quality. Tube power amps will be expensive of any quality. If you want a nice tube midrange watch for EL-34's. I don't know what the difference in various tubes used in "single end tube" SET amps would be. If it's just a warm music playback you want, maybe a tube output CD player or DAC might be another option. Or, the Musical Fidelity tube buffer is another. I bet you can find one of those for $300.00 or less used.

Take a look here at some tube amps and prices;

www.acousticsounds.com
www.spearitsound.com
www.upscaleaudio.com

there are probably many others but this will give you an idea.

E-Stat
07-18-2008, 05:54 AM
:7: hola mi amigos is there any body out there that can suggest a nice warm tube amp,reliable brand under 300 bucks.ive heard a few but have always ran SS seperates.connecting to KG 5.5 /a/d/s.thanx
Vintage Dynaco ST-70. Plenty of them around and many folks make aftermarket mods for them.

rw

ads22
07-18-2008, 11:03 AM
Wow,thanks for the links and suggestions.I have a seperate HT (Yamaha hd) set up and the man cave has onkyo integra gear for 2ch.I have 3 amps driving a variety of sound boxes.Not all at once,but sometimes i turn em all on so i can mow the yard in style. I really like the tube cd idea,and a hybrid power supply of some kind would surely be an option.I'm convinced that I'll have to spend more,but bargains can be found.It would cost 5k to replace my current stereo.SWTG i only have 900 into it + connections.garage sales and befriending the local pawn owners have gone a long way.cheers

bully12
07-18-2008, 12:55 PM
I would second the Dynaco recommendation as a good 2 channel option. They are readily available, and you can probably sell it for close to what you pay.

You may also want to look into the Jolida (1301, 1501, and 1701) hybrid amps, which use a tube based preamp, and a solid state amplifier section. I think these go up to about 100 watts per channel.

Sophia Electric makes an integrated tube amp called the Baby, which is quiet nice, but may not have the power you need. The same can be said for the Yarland if your speakers are not highly efficient.

If you are planning on using tubes in a setup other than 2 channel, I would recommend sticking with solid state at your price point. To get 5 channels of quality tube amplification would be very expensive.

ads22
07-18-2008, 01:15 PM
thanks bully12,its starting to come together.Good suggest,and i plan on having only one quality tube amp.For Klispch kg.5.5 or my ads l780/2 for hopefully better than average reference listening.I dont want to sell the house and live in the woods, but i'd have some awesome audio at my camp site, ha ha.Maybe she could get a job to! I'll dosome research
on all of these ideas,and put a few more pennys in the wine jug.Jam On