speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Folks, I have come across this deal over at Monoprice that I thought might interest some of you. A refurbished tube amp for $99 is not bad at all. But, honestly I do not know a lot about tube amps. Can anyone here chime in as to if this is really a good deal or not? Read before that tube amps power ratings are different from other amps. That is, this 25 watt tube amp would be similar in power to a 75-watt amp. Is that really true? This one sure looks very nice.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15527

Cheers,

Phil
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Folks, I have come across this deal over at Monoprice that I thought might interest some of you. A refurbished tube amp for $99 is not bad at all. But, honestly I do not know a lot about tube amps. Can anyone here chime in as to if this is really a good deal or not? Read before that tube amps power ratings are different from other amps. That is, this 25 watt tube amp would be similar in power to a 75-watt amp. Is that really true? This one sure looks very nice.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15527

Cheers,

Phil
That looks like a piece of junk. A tube amp to be any good needs to be biased class A and NOT AB.

25 watts is 25 watts and not 75 period.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
That looks like a piece of junk. A tube amp to be any good needs to be biased class A and NOT AB.

25 watts is 25 watts and not 75 period.
Well I read a little closer only the pre-amp stage is tube. The amp itself is SS class Not what I thought it was. However, I have read that true tube amp power is rated 3 times less than an typical SS Class AB amps. So, if a true tube amp is rated at 25X2 as you say Class A power that translates to ~75X2 SS Class AB power. Is that not correct? What true tube amps do you prefer? I have seen some Jolida tubes that were very nice. But, they are also very expensive.

Cheers,

Phil
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Field Marshall
That thing is just a chip amp with a tube buffer stuffed in front of it. Doesn't seem particularly interesting, or a good deal.

As for the tube watts being more powerful question, I think that that particular myth has it's roots in a common audiophile misinterpretation of what such amps do when over-driven.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
That thing is just a chip amp with a tube buffer stuffed in front of it. Doesn't seem particularly interesting, or a good deal.

As for the tube watts being more powerful question, I think that that particular myth has it's roots in a common audiophile misinterpretation of what such amps do when over-driven.
Yeah, when I read about it more closely it has a tube pre-amp stage but a class AB SS amp. At first, I thought that is was a true tube amp. So, you are right in that is probably not as good of a deal as I first thought. As far as the power differences between tube amps vs SS amps I really don't know. Just have read several times that tube amps ratings are lower when compared to SS amps. However, I do plan to learn more about true tube amps. That is why this one caught my eye. Too bad, it is not what I thought it was.

Cheers,

Phil
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
The Amazon rating is terrible. 3 stars, 58 reviews: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016YS9CSW/
The refurbished link shows a terrible rating as well. But, the normal priced $149 shows a much more favorable rating. However, now I know what they mean when they say "Hybrid". This is NOT a true tube amp. In other words, it is NOT what I thought that it was. Do plan to learn much more about tube amps. Lots of 2-Channel folks prefer them to SS amps.

Cheers,

Phil
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Wow man do I ever got a lot of learning to do. The articles are way above my head. Need to water it down some to at least get me in the ballpark so to speak. Going to do some reading on my own, then come back to this sometime down the road. That way, I can ascertain more of what it is that is being said. Thanks for the links, but I am NOT ready for that just yet. Got lots of homework to do first.

Cheers,

Phil
 
Last edited:
MR.MAGOO

MR.MAGOO

Audioholic Field Marshall
What happens when a tube burns out? As a kid I remember my Dad taking those tubes to the local hardware store to test and replace. There was a testing machine you'd plug the tube in. Nothing like that anymore.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
What happens when a tube burns out? As a kid I remember my Dad taking those tubes to the local hardware store to test and replace. There was a testing machine you'd plug the tube in. Nothing like that anymore.
That is a very good question. I am not sure exactly how that is handled. If one or all of the bulbs go out, then they will have to be replaced. My guess is that the bulbs are not cheap either, no?

Cheers,

Phil
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Field Marshall
Tube cost and tube life (which depends on the amp design) are the sort of factors that would influence your decision on what to build (or buy) yourself.

Phil, keep those articles handy to cross reference any other reading against. Yes, they're a lot to chew on, but they pull no punches and aren't trying to sell you anything. They are just a reductive description of how these devices work. They make for a handy BS detector, and there is unfortunately a lot of BS out there in tube land. Re-read them a couple times until it sinks in. Poke around the other articles at that site, as they will help fill in the blanks in your understanding. I'm not trying to discourage you from going into the tube zone (and neither is the author, who admits to being a fan of tubes), just that you go in with your eyes wide open if you do.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Tube cost and tube life (which depends on the amp design) are the sort of factors that would influence your decision on what to build (or buy) yourself.

Phil, keep those articles handy to cross reference any other reading against. Yes, they're a lot to chew on, but they pull no punches and aren't trying to sell you anything. They are just a reductive description of how these devices work. They make for a handy BS detector, and there is unfortunately a lot of BS out there in tube land. Re-read them a couple times until it sinks in. Poke around the other articles at that site, as they will help fill in the blanks in your understanding. I'm not trying to discourage you from going into the tube zone (and neither is the author, who admits to being a fan of tubes), just that you go in with your eyes wide open if you do.
Honestly, I no very little about tube amps/pre-amps. Many attest to their warm sounding properties. That is what has drawn me in. Yes, I plan to revisit those articles again and again until I can decipher more of what it is saying. Some I did understand, but some I did not. That means, I got a lot of reading and researching ahead of me. That is okay, as I am more than willing to put in my time. That alone is part of the fun and my commitment to this hobby! Thanks for the links!

Cheers,

Phil
 
D

Diesel57

Full Audioholic
What happens when a tube burns out? As a kid I remember my Dad taking those tubes to the local hardware store to test and replace. There was a testing machine you'd plug the tube in. Nothing like that anymore.
I surely recall those days as well, that's when tv's had tubes and tv repair was lucrative, they would repair your tv right in your home, time didn't matter, if you had the money they would be right there.
 

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