Tube Amp Rant ;-)

samiam

Here is my rant...why are solid state and tube amps so expensive? I mean, a good tube amp costs as much as a quarter at a state College!

Can somebody please explain, hypothesis, over-intellectualize, why these things are so un-freakin-believably expensive?

Phew, I feel better.

http://k43.pbase.com/g3/44/486444/2/56451195.sayahhh.jpg

scottvamp

Just real fast here,
I bought a couple MPA3250's and they weight almost 100 pounds each. The sheer quality of the components inside and not to mention the insane "steel" stortage at the monent.
Before seeing hi end gear in person, i also would ask the question.
Seeing a 300 pound Krell mono block is pretty wild. Sitting next to your $199 Sony reciever it somewhat clears things up.
Check out the "guts" thread, heavy hi quality parts, craftmanship, layout and design.

Not into tubes but the hi end ones look the price. 24k bases and what not.....

Johncan

buy used vintage tube amps!

I did... saved a bunch.

ND13

samiam wrote:

Here is my rant...why are solid state and tube amps so expensive? I mean, a good tube amp costs as much as a quarter at a state College!

Can somebody please explain, hypothesis, over-intellectualize, why these things are so un-freakin-believably expensive?

Phew, I feel better.

What are you considering as expensive?? There are several high quality tube amps, that can drive virtually any speaker to concert levels effortlessly, that come in under $1500 and go on to $2k and you can add quite a few more.

samiam

scottvamp wrote:

Just real fast here,
I bought a couple MPA3250's and they weight almost 100 pounds each. The sheer quality of the components inside and not to mention the insane "steel" stortage at the monent.
Before seeing hi end gear in person, i also would ask the question.
Seeing a 300 pound Krell mono block is pretty wild. Sitting next to your $199 Sony reciever it somewhat clears things up.
Check out the "guts" thread, heavy hi quality parts, craftmanship, layout and design.

Not into tubes but the hi end ones look the price. 24k bases and what not.....

That's a nice rig, mpa3250, I think my bro-inlaw has something like that. Huh, 2 months ago I thought this when I saw it..."big box". Now I'm all about respect having listened to these beasts. I can't believe the richness that an amp makes.

My rti8's only can handle 200 watts, so that is why I am thinking about going tubin. That being said, from what I have read, tube amps kick out as much richness as solid states but at half the wattage, amperage. That means I should be fine with a 50 watt amp for stereo listening.

The reason for the rant is from looking into head amps actually. Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Dot-2-II-Headphone-Tube-Amp-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ190047408373QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It has really good reviews for high-impedance cans on headfi.

It got me to thinking....why can't they be made cheaper?

samiam

ND13 wrote:

What are you considering as expensive?? There are several high quality tube amps, that can drive virtually any speaker to concert levels effortlessly, that come in under $1500 and go on to $2k and you can add quite a few more.

Expensive is a relative term no? My price range is limited because I'm about to get the panny ax100/screen and a new couch. So in terms of what I would like to pay I'm talking 500 bucks tops. Yea. I know. Keep dreamin....

Dennis Gardner

The Little Dot is entry level..............check out some of these.http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7226

ND13

samiam wrote:

Expensive is a relative term no? My price range is limited because I'm about to get the panny ax100/screen and a new couch. So in terms of what I would like to pay I'm talking 500 bucks tops. Yea. I know. Keep dreamin....

You can pick up a nice pre-owned tube amp within your price range. All you need is an amp with 40-50 wpc(maybe even as little as 30) and you're set.

TroyD

You can often find, for example, a myriad of vintage CJ tube amps for under a grand.

Quit jerkin' the gherkin to Stereophile ads and use you noggin'. The gear is out there.

BDT

ohskigod

also, dont rule out a good solid state amp just because your speaks are rated at 200 wpc. you can get an amp more powerful than that and safely drive them as long as your not a complete lunatic on the volume knob. remember, volume knob lunacy will eff up your speakers with a lower powered amp that clips, than an overpowerred one

madmax

You can pick up a nice Jolida 302 or 502 under a grand if you look real hard. I forget what I sold my 302 for but I think it went maybe $700? Not too far from $500
madmax

ND13

madmax wrote:

You can pick up a nice Jolida 302 or 502 under a grand if you look real hard. I forget what I sold my 302 for but I think it went maybe $700? Not too far from $500
madmax

Yep, $700, and it drives my SRS 2s to any level I'd ever need them to ever go to.

madmax

That little dot head amp should be cool enough for the price. I didn't realize you could find a tubed head amp that cheap.
madmax

madmax

Oh, and what I got when I switched from SS to tube amps was a certain loss of a garbling sound that most SS units make. Never heard it until switching back after listening to tubes. It was everywhere. I heard it in the car even. I ended up selling most all of my SS stuff soon afterwards.
madmax

samiam

ND13 wrote:

You can pick up a nice pre-owned tube amp within your price range. All you need is an amp with 40-50 wpc(maybe even as little as 30) and you're set.

Really? 40-50 huh...hmmm....even with the combo setup I have? I am wondering, what sort of changes would an entry level tube amp like that bring. Feel free to get flowery. Use terms commonly found in wine tasting if you wish.

organ

Matching the speakers and amps is the key. The RTi sounds killer on tubes.
I can tear down the house with 5 w/ch.

Here's a link that give you the basics... http://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter/147/tubes_vs_trans.html

sucks2beme

madmax wrote:

That little dot head amp should be cool enough for the price. I didn't realize you could find a tubed head amp that cheap.
madmax

Stick with the Little Dot II+
The original LD and LDII use some odd tubes.
I think they were going for about $139 + shipping on Ebay.

55LS70

Right now I'm listening to my new PrimaLuna Prologue Four. It's 35 wpc EL34 amp. Just got it today, brand new and $1183 delivered to my door. It's build and sound quality blows the Dynaco ST70 series II it replaced away. Wait awhile and there no doubt be used ones coming up on the market.