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Budget Tube Integrated? + Tube related questions

Hi Gurus,

I'm building my first hifi for a new apartment I will be moving into. The system will go into the living room (about 11 by 11ft) and will be used for music mostly and TV/movies occasionally.

I'm keen on a Tube integrated, as I would love a natural, warm sound. I love Jazz and I hear that tubes and vinyl are a match made in heaven (looking to build a vinyl setup in the near future but for now just an Airport Express with lossless files).

Unfortunately my budget is about 500-600 for the amp, and so far only Jolida's offerings seem to be in the ballpark (excluding Chinese amps like Qinpu - are these any good by the way?) Cheaper tubes also tend to have lower outputs, around 20w into 8ohms for the Jolida FX10.

Is it absolutely necessary to get high sensitivity speakers in such a case? Or would these amps be ok driving regular budget bookshelves (like the Wharfedale Diamonds or PSB Alpha/Image, Paradigm monitors etc.)? Since my room is pretty tiny, I was wondering if it'd be ok?

Or should I totally forgo tubes at this price range? Some have suggested that tubes in the below 1000 mark generally aren't worth the bother.

Also I'll be running the setup for several hours a day - including background listening. Is this detrimental for a tube setup? Do I have to replace tubes frequently with such usage?
milesandcoltrane

Showing 1 response by montytx

montytx
138 posts
 
In a room that small, I think the Jolida 102b and PSB speakers would be just fine as I have used that combination in my home office in the past and it was very engaging. I ran the little Dared VP-20 mono amps for a time as well and they worked equally good for the room.

Tubes do wear out over time and the output tubes start becoming a concern as they approach 2000 hours of use. Fortunately, the cost of tubes are relatively inexpensive for most common type tube amps.

Go for it.
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