I've been upgrading my setup little by little, but I'm not confident about buying a tube amp. What's a good starter amp? Is there a certain amount that I should expect to spend, because paying is likely means problems down the road?
Wayne Parham Messages: 18789 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Do you want to build a kit or buy outright?
Either way, you might check into offerings from Audio Note and OddWatt Audio. Those are two brands I have experience with that are awesome, both in kit form and fully assembled. Other people may give you more suggestions too.
Rusty Messages: 1191 Registered: May 2018 Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (3rd Degree)
You might consider also if your speakers are compatible with using tube gear. Impedance and sensitivity can be a big factor. Tube amplifiers usually need higher impedance of at least 8 ohms. And some tube amps are low in power.
gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, many tube amps have multiple output impedance connections. All my designs have at least 4 and 8 ohms and some 16 ohms as well. They often tend to have fewer watts for the dollar compared to solid state ones, but then loudness is logarithmic and not linear when related to power. Twice the power is no where near twice the loudness. I would suggest getting the speakers first then figuring out what amp to go for.