SuBXeRo Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I am starting to get an itch to explore tube amps and well, quite frankly, dont know much about them aside from the fact that they do take some warm up and wear in time. I don't really know of any tube amp brands aside from jolida and mcintosh. Any and all help/suggestions is appreciated! From what i have seen, i don't like the vintage look of like brown colors and old style knobs. I like more of the modern black metal or silver, kinda like fatman tube amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Check out Cayin, Prima Luna, and Decware. All make very nice products at very fair prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Check out Upscale Audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I have had good luck with the Onix sp-3. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Let's start with the basics. Budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 tube amps come in all sizes and flavors. I have a 5 watt tube amp that I like, a 30 watt one, a 50 watt one, and 10o watt one, and a 350watt one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I have a 5 watt tube amp that I like, a 30 watt one, a 50 watt one, and 100 watt one, and a 350watt one. I'm just guessing but I'm thinking a 350 watt tube amp just might be out of the "affordable" range? Maybe? I thought I was pushing the limits with a little tube integrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 if i were to actually get a tube amp, not that i can necessarily afford it anyways right now, i would be looking to get something, probably around 50 watts per channel, and have it be a stereo tube amp or get dual monoblocks. I figure thats a great wattage to start off with since i can use klipsch easily and i choose to use speakers with alower sensitivity, the speakers will still shine. Also, chances are it would be with a bookshelf set. I figure if i start getting my feet wet now in the realm of tubes, i can understand what i am getting into and really make the proper purchase for me. My motto for speakers is in my signature and i plan to follow it. I get what i want, always, im willing to wait, i am a lurker. Ideally, if i do do something, id like to spend around 1000 bucks, Is that feasible? Is it worth it to spend a little bit more? Do you guys know of any good source material to read abou tubes and learn more about them. I like this style of tube amp, i saw this fatman brand in another thread on here a while back. Although this may not be the exact model i want, its this styling that i like. I'd ideally like to have a "show" setup wherever i wind up putting it. I envision myself placing this setup in my office at work, that is when i get an office . Kind of having it on one wall with my speakers flanking it on a nice stand of some sort, maybe something that i custom design and build myself. I don't really like the electronics to be hidden, i like them to be open and to show. Is 50 watts to much for an office, probably is my guess haha. I suppose i just like knowing that i have overhead with it. I prefer to buy things once when they are expensive instead of multiple different items http://www.fat-man.co.uk/docs/product_07/iTube_Mothership.shtml this is kool too, the miniwatt, it just doesnt really have any power. http://www.miniwatt.com.hk/amplifiers/miniwatt-n3.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 id like to spend around 1000 bucks Yes, I'd start with a used tube integrated. There really is nothing to learn, just make sure you get the owners manual. You might have to learn to use a multimeter if the amp needs to have the bias set, no big deal, easy peazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 i also need to learn the lingo, i dont even know what "bias" means in this case. Im in that whole, this looks shiney, and pretty, and i want one. I am actually really looking hard at the miniwatt. Its drastically under what i had originally thought about buying but it seems to get good reviews and may be just the right amount of power for what i want to do. But then again, i dont know really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Do you guys know of any good source material to read abou tubes and learn more about them. Check out this site: http://www.angelfire.com/vt/audio/ It will give you lots of useful, and accurate information about tube amps. To learn about tubes, pick up any of the RCA receiving tube manuals (many on Ebay all of the time) and read the entire introductory section which explains vacuum tube construction, operation, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I am actually really looking hard at the miniwatt. You might want just a little more power for your first amp, something like a used Jolida JD102B would be about 300 bucks and make about 15 watts. That will run most Klipsch to good volume. For a bit more money you can get something with two EL34s a side and have really strong power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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