" wrote:

Hi,

I am new in tube amplifiers. I would like to buy one. Would you please
advice me of good models of tube amplifiers.

On friday you said you would like to build a tube amp.


Now you are saying you would just like to just buy a tube amp.

You might like to familiarise yourself with tube amps generally before
buying anything,
let alone building one, which for the novice is a very complex thing to
do.

A known tube amp hater pointed you in the terrible direction
of one of the the worst designs ever to be seen at

http://members.aol.com/aria3/output.htm

This type of audio amp uses tubes to be directly connected to the load,
and it is called an OTL, or output transformerless amplifier.
They are notoriously unreliable.
But some sound excellent while working.

Tube amps with output transformers are able to achieve a better match
between the load and the
tubes so the matching of tubes is relatively unimportant, and the
reliablity is far better,
so that 5,000 hrs can be expected from an output tube such as a 6550.

If you listen 2 hrs per day, 365 days per year, you get 6.8 yrs out of an
output tube.
Whilst some solid state gear might last that long without a service, a lot
do not,
and the cost of a fix for a high end SS amp may well be more than the cost
of re-tubing
in say 6 years.


I suggest you join an audio club, make friends with the members, and
listen to their systems.
There are some dirt cheap chinese amps around, and then some very
expensive
amps from CJ, ARC, or Jadis et all.

But I strongly suggest you vote with your ears after some trialing of
available amps,
and if you hear nothing special with an ARC, then don't buy one.

There are some good second hand deals around, and CJ and ARC hold value
ok,
And then there is Leak, Quad, Dynaco, Radford, and old samples in good
condition
may be OK as an entry level thing, but you need someone into tube gear to
be able to sort problems without ripping you off.

The audio club may know guys like that.



Patrick Turner.







Thanks,

Vasilis