cheap stereo tube amp options

buymesome

Do you guys know of any cheap tube amps I should check out for under 250?

To some this may be a laughable budget but its all I wish to spend . The speakers I will be driving is rti a3

Face

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.pl?PRIC=1&PMIN=0&PMAX=300&CTGSK=intatube&submit=Go

madmax

It costs $200 for just a painting of something with tubes in it.
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1259281897&/Antique-RCA-Radio-Oil-Painting

buymesome

I know max but my pockets are empty

I do like the look of this 7W HLLY MK-II Mini Vacuum Tube Amplifier . Its $168 shipped and with the leftovers I could go to the stripclub or buy a yaqin tube buffer . There is also a tube buffer from cary thats supposedly good

buymesome

I forgot to mention this one , Musical Paradise MP-301 6V6 Mini Tube Amplifier

mhardy6647

Bang for buck, one cannot beat a vintage Magnavox ("Maggotbox") console hifi stereo amplifier -- single-ended or push-pull EL84 or push-pull 6V6. There's a Magnavoxfriends Yahoo group with lots of info.

BUT These are projects when you buy them (or find them at the dump, as I have on a couple of occasions); not the place to start unless you're comfortable with, and used to, working with lethal high voltages.

There were other vintage console amps that were OK (e.g., the SE EL84 Zenith stereo amp that "inspired" Steve Deckert's "ZEN SE-84" amp -- www.decware.com ); but the Maggotboxes were really something synergistic (much more than the meager sum of their parts).

Next best thing: Take a look at the tube amp-on-a-board (literally) kits from S5 Electronics. http://www.s5electronics.com/ltube.html
Most folks will need to add some sort of case for safety.
I have one of their earlier 11BM8 stereo amps; it is a very respectable-sounding little amp.

Next: Check the SEX amp kit (Single-Ended eXperimenter's) at www.bottlehead.com
very nice, but quite low-powered and not as inexpensive (although a rather more "finished" as a kit than the S5 offerings).

HTH, as they say :-)

zingo

buymesome wrote: »

I know max but my pockets are empty

I do like the look of this 7W HLLY MK-II Mini Vacuum Tube Amplifier . Its $168 shipped and with the leftovers I could go to the stripclub or buy a yaqin tube buffer . There is also a tube buffer from cary thats supposedly good

Why would you need a tube buffer if you are running a tube amp?

heiney9

Most of those cheap Chinese amps are junk. You get what you pay for.

Head over the Tubes Asylum and start doing some research. You never know what you'll get coming from Overseas as the quality contorl is poor and many times dozens of factories are turning these out all to different specs.

This is one I can recommend as there have been some very positive reviews on it and it's built well and is backed by an American distributor.

http://www.teconaudio.com/model_55.html

But it's not for anything more than bookshelf speaker as it's only 4.5 watts.

How big is your room and what are you trying to accomplish......I may have something for you depending on your goal.

comfortablycurt

zingo wrote: »

Why would you need a tube buffer if you are running a tube amp?

That's a very good question.

Paden501

@mhardy: What are you powering with your S5 kit amp? I was interested in this kit but I"m worried about the power output. 16w out of their biggest stereo amp kit isn't a lot for pushing larger speakers. I have SDA 1C's. I know that with a SS amp you need to push a lot more watts at the speakers but I've been told that you don't need as much power with tubes. Can you help shed some light on this? I'm admittadly uneducated in all things tubes (too young I guess).

Thanks, and sorry for the minor thread-jack.

Face

I'm not sure if the S5 kit has enough current to drive your 1C's, but I powered a pair of SRS 2's with a Manley Stingray in Triode mode(18wpc) and never ran out of volume in a 16x18' room.

heiney9

Keiko wrote: »

heiney...What was the other Dared you're running besides the SL-2000A?

MP5 a/k/a as Sonic Integrity MP5 or Fatman iTube.

http://www.fat-man.co.uk/docs/product_07/iTube_ValveDock.shtml

I have an extra NIB unit I've been contemplating selling. I bought it as a back-up because I was so enthralled w/the first one I bought.

H9

heiney9

Keiko wrote: »

Nice! I can't be tempted this time. Maybe later on down the road.

Sure you can be tempted........I'm not in a hurry to move it. I have been looking at some EL84 based full tube integrated amps the past few days. If I ever pull the trigger then having two of the Dared (HCT) amps is a bit overkill. Some say it's a bit overkill to have two of them now. But I wanted a back-up and at the time they were hard to find......still are.

H9

mhardy6647

Paden501 wrote: »

@mhardy: What are you powering with your S5 kit amp? I was interested in this kit but I"m worried about the power output. 16w out of their biggest stereo amp kit isn't a lot for pushing larger speakers. I have SDA 1C's. I know that with a SS amp you need to push a lot more watts at the speakers but I've been told that you don't need as much power with tubes. Can you help shed some light on this? I'm admittadly uneducated in all things tubes (too young I guess).

Thanks, and sorry for the minor thread-jack.

I have the K-12/K-502 which is about 8 wpc. It drives a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls or Altec Valencias (in the 98+ dB/watt at 1 meter sensitivity neighborhood) very well, and it's amazingly quiet. It also works well with fullrange drivers like Fostex FE-207E. The original DCM timewindows also work surprisingly well with an amplifier like this (if you happen to have a pair sitting around).

EDIT: The Manley Stingray is a **** of an amp... but not a cheap one :-)

Anything in the 90-plus dB sensitivity range is worth a try. A flat/smooth 8-ish ohm impedance curve is probably a plus.

heiney9 wrote: »

Most of those cheap Chinese amps are junk. You get what you pay for.

...This is one I can recommend as there have been some very positive reviews on it and it's built well and is backed by an American distributor.

http://www.teconaudio.com/model_55.html

But it's not for anything more than bookshelf speaker as it's only 4.5 watts.

Actually you'd be hard-pressed to find a bookshelf speaker that will work well with 4.5 watts. My FE-206Es will, but they're ca. 96 dB sensitive (although rather bass-shy, per Hoffman's Iron Law).

What you really want is something BIG and SENSITIVE for 4.5 watts, like a pair of Altec Voice of the Theatre, or Klipsch Cornwalls, LaScalas, or Klipschorns. If you've not heard such a combination (with a really good low powered amp), you'll be amazed...

buymesome

zingo wrote: »

Why would you need a tube buffer if you are running a tube amp?

I though you needed a buffer between the cdp and preamp ?

This product lists as a preamp and buffer YAQIN 6J1 Tube Sound Upgrades Processor / Pre-amplifier ? hmmmm confusing

This tube amplifier is made in canada and has rave reviews on the ebay feedback Musical Paradise MP-301 6V6 Mini Tube Amplifier

I realy love the look of the tec?onaudiomodel "55" compact amp but its $400 ouch for me

mhardy6647

buymesome wrote: »

I though you needed a buffer between the cdp and preamp ?

Nope, you shouldn't need one.

buymesome

I just looked at Klipschorns,LaScalas, Klipsch Cornwalls and Altec Voice

Them speakers all go for over a thousand smackers . That out of my budget

kawizx9r

buymesome wrote: »

I just looked at Klipschorns,LaScalas, Klipsch Cornwalls and Altec Voice

Them speakers all go for over a thousand smackers . That out of my budget

Klipschorns just disappeared on my CL that were listed for 600 and a pair of Cornwalls for 800 unless they dropped again.

I too considered a budget-friendly alternative into the tube world and considered a DIY-amp but realistically, to get some good sound you should get ready to fork over some good dough :rolleyes:

I got the amp situation knocked out, now it's time for the preamp and it ain't cheap. My thoughts? Take the advice given here, it's really helped me alot and should help you as well

mhardy6647

ooh, a pair (was it a pair?) of K-horns for $600... if that were legitimate, that was a deal.

$800 for a pair of Cornies in good condition is about right.

kawizx9r

mhardy6647 wrote: »

ooh, a pair (was it a pair?) of K-horns for $600... if that were legitimate, that was a deal.

$800 for a pair of Cornies in good condition is about right.

That's correct, 600. They were a walnut looking finish. I should probably give them a try because of all the great things said about Klipsch but I don't think I'd like the sound of a horn for a tweeter.....something about that just screams "harsh" but I could be wrong. Don't take this literally, I've never heard a pair.

Btw, there's a pair of LaScala's (950) on CL as well and several pairs of KG's (80-200), Forte's (500) and Tangents (70).

mhardy6647

The stock EV T-35 tweeter used in the vintage K-horns (labelled K-77 by Klipsch) is indeed harsh; it ain't because it's a horn, it's because it's a T-35 :-)

There's a guy called Bob Crites who has built a cottage industry selling crossover and driver upgrades for Klipsch "Heritage" speakers -- check the forum at the Klipsch website and/or the Klipsch forum at www.audiokarma.org for more info if that's of interest.

LessisNevermore

kawizx9r wrote: »

That's correct, 600. They were a walnut looking finish. I should probably give them a try because of all the great things said about Klipsch but I don't think I'd like the sound of a horn for a tweeter.....something about that just screams "harsh" but I could be wrong. Don't take this literally, I've never heard a pair.

Btw, there's a pair of LaScala's (950) on CL as well and several pairs of KG's (80-200), Forte's (500) and Tangents (70).

They can sound very smooth and sweet, BUT.....I've only ever heard that with tubes. My friend has a pair of Cornwalls, I thought they sounded terrible, until he got some nice tube amps behind them.

@ an earlier comment: The Klipsch speaks can sound good with low powered amps, but the bass they are capable of, isn't realized until you get adequate power to them. The Cornwalls really came to life once he got those MC 60's on 'em.;)

mhardy6647

LessisNevermore wrote: »

They can sound very smooth and sweet, BUT.....I've only ever heard that with tubes. My friend has a pair of Cornwalls, I thought they sounded terrible, until he got some nice tube amps behind them.

@ an earlier comment: The Klipsch speaks can sound good with low powered amps, but the bass they are capable of, isn't realized until you get adequate power to them. The Cornwalls really came to life once he got those MC 60's on 'em.;)

This is all quite true; Marantz 8B (though not as powerful as the MC-60 monoblocks, of course) is also really nifty on Cornies (and I am not a huge fan of EL34 amps, but the 8B is really a special piece of hardware, as are MC-60s).

Off topic (or, more appropriately, back on topic) - here's a couple of photos of our K-12 kit amp in the enclosure that S5 (used to?) sell(s) for it. About 200 smackers in toto (I couldn't build an enclosure to save my life - YMMV). There is of course, a top for this, not shown.




I was going for a 2001 monolith vibe with these photos and the oblique shadows -- but I simply confirmed that I'm still not a very good photographer.



We're not talking "cheap amps" any more, though!

MillerLiteScott

George from Tubelab is in the presale stages of his new Push Pull circuit board designed for 12AU7 pre EL 84/6BQ5 output (and some other output tubes)amp with tube rectification. I am looking forward to building one of these this fall, I hope. It should be good for between 15-25 watts depending on the uotput tubes and iron. There is a whole thread on DIY Audio for this project.

Scott

buymesome

So theres nothing good under 250?

Maybe a seprate amplifier with a buffer in the middle will give me tube sound

mhardy6647

buymesome wrote: »

So theres nothing good under 250?

Maybe a seprate amplifier with a buffer in the middle will give me tube sound

The aforementioned used console amps; tough for toobie newbies, though.

The Bottlehead Quickie is really cool for 100 smackers, though (not a power amp, though; it's a preamp that could be configured into a headphone amp). No pesky high voltage DC to kill you, either.
http://www.bottlehead.com/store.php?crn=220&rn=438&action=show_detail

EDIT: ooh, another thought! There has been a spate of Compactron tube amps offered as boards, semi-kits, and kits. Here's one example (actually, two examlpes) based on the 6T9 Compactron tube:

http://www.tubes4hifi.com/6T9amp.htm
http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/Stereo_6t9.htm

EDIT^2: also http://ankythera.com/Projects/stereo_tube_amplifier.htm

buymesome

Thanks mhardy but I cant handle that stuff

Here what I found though its an integrated solid state I wonder if I could still run a tube buffer between it and the cd player?

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1258166269&/Onix-A-60-Dual-Mono-Integrated


or if I save up for a date with her big sister

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1259459969&/Onix-A-120-MK1-Excellent-Condi

concealer404

buymesome wrote: »

I just looked at Klipschorns,LaScalas, Klipsch Cornwalls and Altec Voice

Them speakers all go for over a thousand smackers . That out of my budget

There was a pair of Voice of the Theatres here for $500 a month ago.... i'll check to see if they're still available if you want.

polkanddie

buymesome wrote: »

Thanks mhardy but I cant handle that stuff

Here what I found though its an integrated solid state I wonder if I could still run a tube buffer between it and the cd player?

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1258166269&/Onix-A-60-Dual-Mono-Integrated


or if I save up for a date with her big sister

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1259459969&/Onix-A-120-MK1-Excellent-Condi

Tube buffers are a great alternative!!

I just bought a Grant Fidelity Tube buffer, Running it between my pre and amp for my fronts and I could not be happier, I know its not the same as an acutal tube amp but its a great inexpensive alternative... I saw the same one I have on CL for around 150-200. plus very easy to hook up.

CVSO915

You made the comment that most of the Chinese amps are junk. Then, which ones aren't junk? Do you have a tangible explanation for your claim that most of them are junk?

I ask not to get into a pissing contest, but I have read on Audio Karma about a few that are considered to be gems and great "bang for the buck".

heiney9 wrote: »

Most of those cheap Chinese amps are junk. You get what you pay for.

Head over the Tubes Asylum and start doing some research. You never know what you'll get coming from Overseas as the quality contorl is poor and many times dozens of factories are turning these out all to different specs.

This is one I can recommend as there have been some very positive reviews on it and it's built well and is backed by an American distributor.

http://www.teconaudio.com/model_55.html

But it's not for anything more than bookshelf speaker as it's only 4.5 watts.

How big is your room and what are you trying to accomplish......I may have something for you depending on your goal.

buymesome

CVSO915 wrote: »

You made the comment that most of the Chinese amps are junk. Then, which ones aren't junk? Do you have a tangible explanation for your claim that most of them are junk?

I ask not to get into a pissing contest, but I have read on Audio Karma about a few that are considered to be gems and great "bang for the buck".

Thats what I have read too when moste of these other tube amps get reviewd . There is always a comment about there being some very stiff competition out there coming from the chinese tube makers on the budget market