Tube Amps?

[ItsOver]

These caught my eye recently.  They're certainly cool to look at, with the exposed tubes glowing away. 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-miracle-of-a-150-or-less-tube-amplifier-1445452602

[pyewacket]

These caught my eye recently.  They're certainly cool to look at, with the exposed tubes glowing away. 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-miracle-of-a-150-or-less-tube-amplifier-1445452602

That is cool, IO. Are you interested in building one? Mr. Pye has been building and repairing stereo equipment since the 1970s. He would be happy to answer any questions you have on the subject. According to him, Rule #1: "Tube amps and the less expensive kits currently on the market  tend to cheap out on the transformer assemblies. An important measure for tube amps is physical weight - the more iron they have means better base and less distortion. Don't be fooled by big transformer enclosures, they're usually small transformers packaged to look like more than they actually are." 

Hope that helps- he'd be happy to discuss this further with you.

[ItsOver]

That is cool, IO. Are you interested in building one? Mr. Pye has been building and repairing stereo equipment since the 1970s. He would be happy to answer any questions you have on the subject. According to him, Rule #1: "Tube amps and the less expensive kits currently on the market  tend to cheap out on the transformer assemblies. An important measure for tube amps is physical weight - the more iron they have means better base and less distortion. Don't be fooled by big transformer enclosures, they're usually small transformers packaged to look like more than they actually are." 

Hope that helps- he'd be happy to discuss this further with you.

I just saw your reply, Pye, thanks to MV cutting-back on the recent posts size.    Praise MV.

The tube amps are catching my eye since I'd like to get the "warmth" back into music that digital has crushed.  I remember some of the older stereo gear, such as tube amps, having an incredible sound I'd like to get back, at least a little.

I'm not really interested in building something but I could if I had to.  I can actually solder. )  Does Mr. Pye having any further recommendations for getting a decent tube amp, without spending a fortune?  Any specific model or brand?  Thanks!

[pyewacket]

Mr. Pye would be happy to offer any information he can.

Three questions to start-

1) approximate budget- he estimates $350- $500 to get into a reliable 1960s/1970s vintage tube amplifier

2) Do you want a tube AM/FM receiver or individual tube amplifier - like tuner/amp/pre-amp?

3) your location- are you in the USA? outside of the USA has significant shipping costs and possible customs costs. Inside USA has more options.

A good place to start is Dynaco MK series- they are vintage tube amps- if you google them you'll come up with a list of sites for refurbishing old equipment.

BTW- the reason old tube equipment sounds so "warm" is due to the amount of distortion inherent in the design of older tube equipment. The distortion in older amplifiers is sometimes 10 to 50 times greater than modern transistorized equipment. An interesting read is to google why tube amps sound "warmer' than newer, transistorized equipment. Pay particular attention to odd vs. even harmonics.

We hope this helps you get started on your quest and Mr. Pye will be more than happy to answer any further questions . 

[ItsOver]

Mr. Pye would be happy to offer any information he can.

Three questions to start-

1) approximate budget- he estimates $350- $500 to get into a reliable 1960s/1970s vintage tube amplifier

2) Do you want a tube AM/FM receiver or individual tube amplifier - like tuner/amp/pre-amp?

3) your location- are you in the USA? outside of the USA has significant shipping costs and possible customs costs. Inside USA has more options.

A good place to start is Dynaco MK series- they are vintage tube amps- if you google them you'll come up with a list of sites for refurbishing old equipment.

BTW- the reason old tube equipment sounds so "warm" is due to the amount of distortion inherent in the design of older tube equipment. The distortion in older amplifiers is sometimes 10 to 50 times greater than modern transistorized equipment. An interesting read is to google why tube amps sound "warmer' than newer, transistorized equipment. Pay particular attention to odd vs. even harmonics.

We hope this helps you get started on your quest and Mr. Pye will be more than happy to answer any further questions . 

Oh, wow.  This is great!  Yes, I'm USA.  I'm interested in an individual tube amp, no receiver required.  Let me check out Dynaco MK. 

I've noticed some of the newer tube amps are geared towards just playing streaming music, such as through bluetoothing from another hunk of hardware.  I realize that's not necessarily ideal but it's more convenient for me.  Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

http://www.neuhauslabs.com/amplifiers/

Thank yeeewww!

[MV/Liberace!]

I just saw your reply, Pye, thanks to MV cutting-back on the recent posts size.    Praise MV.

"recent posts" is a shit way to navigate the forum.  click "new posts" in the menu and then click on the little orange "new" icons next to the threads.  takes you straight to the first unread post in that thread.