Source
r/audiophile•
trisweb

Okay, let's do this. Where should a tube noob start?

So I want to get into tubes, specifically a tube power amp. I've had a couple incredible experiences listening to them in a shop and loved the warmth, and frankly, the glow and whole experience. I've done a search and read back a bit and can't find a good summary or beginner's resource, and I would love to hear some opinions.

Let's start with a budget of around $300-500. And say I have fairly sensitive bookshelf speakers (currently some 4Ω ADS 520's, but that's expanding as well) that will be okay with pretty low wattage.

  1. Should I go DIY? I'm fairly electronically savvy and can solder parts, but could probably only realistically devote a weekend, maybe two, and I'd need a really, really detailed guide including parts recommendations. If anyone has done this, I'd love to hear how it turned out and what you used.

  2. Should I buy used? What should I look for? Most everything I can find is in the stratosphere price-wise and I just can't justify it. I would think used might be cheaper, but these things seem to appreciate for some reason ;)

  3. Should I buy new? If so, what should I look for? Should I get used, or try new? I've had my eye on a MiniWatt as it's the only thing I can find that's both stereo/integrated and in my price range. Any others out there that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for any opinions, ideas, or recommendations for getting started with tube amplifiers.

Posted Mar 24, 2011, 11:02 PM UTC

66
Uncle_ErikDistinguished Service Award•

Generally, the commercial stuff available for $300-$500 is crap. The problem is the iron. High voltage iron is expensive. I've paid more for output transformers, let alone the entire amp.

If you want to save money, go DIY. You might be interested in the Bottlehead amp kits. Slightly more than the cost of parts, include everything, and they have excellent manuals and a forum. I also like the kits from Transcendent and Audio Note, but they're outside your budget.

If you want to buy used, some older Conrad-Johnson gear offers excellent value when it turns up. You can also find good deals on (for now) greatly underappeciated Stromberg Carlson integrated amps. If you just want a power amp, you can find good deals on old Dynaco amps (especially the ST70, but they usually need restoration).

2
Binaural•

Yeah, I have to agree with Uncle_Erik regarding the price range. You might find some used stuff on audiogon.

1
triswebOP•

Thanks - good recommendations. The Dynacos look like a good bet used, are they actually decent? I'll check out Audiogon as well.

1
27pH•

My personal opinion is that tube power amps have some limitations wrt speaker matching and service issues, which make them too much potential trouble for my taste. If you already have a power amp I would recommend a tupe preamp. Much less hassle and it may give you the warmth and glow you seek. Where I live Croft preamps are readily available as used equip. That may be a fine start.

1
Uncle_ErikDistinguished Service Award•

Service issues are not inherent to tubes. You get service issues with poorly-designed amps. And there are quite a few poorly-designed amps out there. Which is why you don't buy the cheap ones. Those probably have their iron wound in a third world country by a half-starved child slave, built on some shoddy PCB inside a case without sufficient ventilation, and soldered together by another child slave. Of course something like that is going to have problems.

I have 30 or 40 vacuum tube devices, most built or restored by me. They do not have service problems. Over the past five years, my biggest issue was a burned out a 6SL7 on my preamp/headphone amp. Just a normal, expected, tube death. The replacement has been running fine for a couple of years. And when a tube amp is built correctly with modern components, you should get at least 20-30 years of use, notwithstanding tube replacements. By the way, Morgan Jones' books are wonderful if you want to learn layout and good construction techniques. You can also pick up a lot by looking at old Tektronix 'scopes and boatanchors made by Drake, Collins, Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, National, etc. That stuff is from the golden age of tubes, built by people who intended them to last forever and be easily repaired. My oldest set is pushing 90 (Atwater-Kent radio) and is still going.

Speaker matching isn't a huge problem. Yeah, they all sound different, but it depends on how persnickety you are. I don't tuberoll or sit around searching for minute differences between minor component changes. If something works and sounds good, I put on music. I don't tear my hair out trying to find ways to "improve" it.

2
Binaural•

I've owned a Rogue Audio Cronus integrated tube amp for three years. Other than upgrading the spent power tubes after two years, it's been flawless.

1