It all depends on whether you understand circuits a bit and have some soldering
skills. If you do, a Chinese amp may well represent good value for money. But
remember that if you have it shipped from abroad you are in some difficulty
regarding any manufacturing defects such as dry joints etc (which have been
reported). There again, if you are confident with circuits you might as well
build one, which is a different story, or rebuild a Leak amp like the Stereo 20
which are plentiful and £300 -ish. With that you have the benefit of a strong
user group to give you advice and help deal with any
problems.(hjleak@yahoogroups). To get up to speed with circuits, read Morgan
Jones "Valve Amplifiers" which is an excellent guide to the basics.
Now, if you are a novice with valve amps I'd suggest a working model bought in
Britain. Again, a refurbished Leak would be fine, by which I mean that any old
and dodgy resistors, capacitors or valves have been replaced and the amp
certified fully working. For this try ebay or http://www.emporiumhifi.com/ for
instance.
As for having a valve amp - well I haven't been without one for 45 years. And
by one, I mean usually several! Good luck, Andy

=== Andy Evans ===
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