Cheap tube amps?

By their nature, tube amps are not cheap. They are luxury items intended to appeal to those willing and able to splurge.

Your speakers are fairly efficient I believe and nominal 4 ohm correct ??

Anyways, your budget is somewhat low so your only chance is scoring something used, possibly a Jolida 302b. It's a nice little 50watt integrated (EL-34 output tubes) that I'm using on a second system in my living room driving a pair of Totem Arro's which are not the most efficient speaker.

I do believe you should add at least another couple of hundred dollars to your budget, and even then you'll still be in the used market.

That's not true at all. You can find tube amps that are just as affordable as solid state. If you use good vintage or new-old-stock tubes, you can save a lot of money and get great amps. I have friends who design and refurbish tube amps, and they, nor their clients are in the high-end luxury audio arena.

- Steve O.

The cheapest tube amps I have seen are Antique Sound AV-25s. They are $345 each, and two are required for stereo (plus a preamp.) I paid $200 for my Denon reciever.

I would take a look @ Jolida and Onix, two brands I have heard and that would probably fall within your budget on the used market. As I stated earlier, I'm quite happy with my Jolida 302B.

Check out waht's available on the "Gon"

They have kits you can build yourself.. If you're into that and the prices are much better...

I used Ornec to import a Yarland 34C last year, for about $250 inc shipping at the time. Very nice for the money.

Jolida products are very good for the money.

As long as your speakers aren't too difficult. My brother's Jolida (don't recall model) didn't like my Studio 100s much at all - although it did sound OK at low volumes.

They are not the cheapest.....but they have great customer feedback.

Try www.bottlehead.com

The original poster's M80's are much more efficient than the Studio 100's and a modestly powered tube amp should drive them fine.

I've been looking for a cheap tube amp also. I've been looking at bottlehead.com myself and narrowed it down to the SEX amp or Paramour (depending if I decide to go monoblock). I'm a newbie to DIY and tube audio but for starting out and based on the reviews I've read and the prices I've seen it seems to be the best way to go.

If DIY isn't your thing...I also just came across this on the Gon: (I was thinking about it for myself but I don't have the cash right now)
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ube&1198889357

It got great reviews on 6 moons:
http://6moons.com/audioreviews/onix/onix.html

the onix sp3 is a very nice unit for the money, well built with a nice smooth sound.

Sensitivity is some of it, but the impedance curve of the speaker is a consideration too. The Studio 100 drop quite low in the mid-bass region. Dunno what the Axioms do...

It goes over your buget a bit, but I bought a cary sla-70 for about 700 six months ago off of audiogon. It has been great. If you can get a cary they are great.

Sam

CEN7272.....I think that was the license plate on my old Subaru!!!!!!

Great reviews???????..........when was the last time you ever read a review that said, "Man, this expensive boat anchor sounds like shiite, plus it's made in China, and no tech will ever touch it with a 10 foot pole when it breaks!!!!!"

Go have fun with Bottlehead. Make mistakes, live and learn, it's YOURS and you'll be proud of it! Or shop an old tube amp from Audio Classics down in Binghamton - no matter where you live in NY it can't be all that far from ya!

Something I have never understood is the desire for an all-tube system. I see people with a tube CD player, tube preamp, and tube power amp and wonder why. The only purpose of tubes is to create "euphonic" distortion, and it seems to me that having just one tube component in the chain would accomplish this for a lot less.

There are folks who do what you suggest - they have a tubed DAC or CD player with tubes on the output stage. If they match that with an linestage or amp with proper input impedance, that may be all you need.

What is nice with a full-tube setup, particularly a vintage one, is that it can be very affordable. Good vintage tube gear can be tuned up, hopefully with a set of affordable new tubes, and paired with efficient speakers, sound really, really good.

I'm in the middle of putting together a new system in this very way right now...

- Steve O.

Anyone thinking about a 2 channel tube set up with SACD/DVD-A/CD playback, how do you like this:

Dared VP-20 Tube Monos - sale price $649 a pair, list $1,200
Onix Reference 1 Monitors - sale price $499 a pair, list $1,200
Oppo 980 - $169
3 ft Stereo RCA - Monoprice Premium $5; or, Blue Jeans LC-1 - $32
10 ft Speaker wires - Blue Jeans $70, Viper AV Pro Studio Cables sale price $72, list $250

I am buying the components piece by piece, any ideas / recommendations, PLEASE let me know.

It depends on each own definition of cheap

I suggest you really nail down your choice of speaker - that will set the necessary specs for your amp. For example, with an 80dB/m efficient speaker, you could forget going SET.

There is nothing wrong with the Onix Reference 1 loudspeaker. For me, I would want to get something that provides more bass, but that's just me.

- Steve O.

Completely new to tubes (does that make me a toob?), just heard them a couple of times and really liked the sound. I am trying to dip my toe in the water rather than plow in head first, if I happen to like it it will be $20k later as usual.

I spoke to Joe at Dared and gave him the specs and he told me the VP-20 mono tubes will be fine with the Onix speakers (he also said no SET for these speakers).

I was thinking exactly the same as you about the bass and looked at the Minis, but I went with the Ref 1s for my tube experiment. I'll add a sub if it is lacking (also NYC apartment, I can't rock the foundation or I'll be under the Brooklyn Bridge with my sub and tubes, the NYC deputy police commissioner lives in the apartment right above me).

I have no experience with the Oppo but definitely want a SACD / DVD-A player and it has very good reviews. I have a Sony 777ES that I use for my SACD/CD listening in the main HT. There will be no display attached to the Oppo once the set up is done, video processing a non-issue. Any other suggestions for a SACD player to 2 channels or experiences for the Oppo for audio listening for that matter?