Where do the tubes go?

Tube power amps can open the door to "even harmonic" slam and are often interesting to look at. I like a seemingly unadulterated, clean as possible SS Class A balanced preamp signal into a tube power amp as that combo seems to work for me, and gives me all the tube rolling I need. Get a transistor and put it next to a tube...note the differences...small dead looking black silicon plug with tiny things in it you can't see, or large glass object with soul and possible craftsmanship you CAN see. Meaningless maybe, but tubes are simply cool and hot at the same time.

I bought a new factory upgraded Jolida 502P for a little over a grand, it requires almost zero maintenance (you don't HAVE to tube roll, and the bias adjustment screws are easy to get to on the top of the amp), and sounds fabulous right out of the box. RCA and XLR ins, 4 and 8 ohm speaker outs...all user friendly. Don't be frightened...it's easy...come on in...

Relax and don't be stupid (get a reasonably powered amp with outputs at 8 and 4 ohms, plug it in, enjoy). Regarding reliability, there are FAR more tube guitar amps than hifi amps out there and they're often mercilessly dragged around, including combo amps with the speakers in the same physical space as the amp, tubes mounted upside down so all the heat goes up into the chassis (nearly every Fender amp ever made), and being used by people who don't care about the amp's inner workings as long as it powers up and doesn't quit in the middle of Louie Louie (more important than your listening room, how many tube amps quit at concerts with 15,000 plus people? Nearly zero...for years and years). Very similar circuits as hifi amps in most cases, but hifi gets the "precious/cautious" baggage attached. I recently had a new "Boutique" Class A hand wired all tube guitar head dropped by UPS so hard it bent the entire corner of the amp (heavy "lunchbox" style steel case) and after getting the kinks sorted with vice grips the amp works perfectly with no tube damage or any other damage. The myth of tube amp failure issues continues, and if you're too weak (disabled and extreme geezers excepted) to schlep a dead amp in for repairs or package it in the original box you should have kept, you're a wimp. Period.

Relax and don't be stupid (get a reasonably powered amp with outputs at 8 and 4 ohms, plug it in, enjoy). Regarding reliability, there are FAR more tube guitar amps than hifi amps out there and they're often mercilessly dragged around, including combo amps with the speakers in the same physical space as the amp, tubes mounted upside down so all the heat goes up into the chassis (nearly every Fender amp ever made), and being used by people who don't care about the amp's inner workings as long as it powers up and doesn't quit in the middle of Louie Louie (more important than your listening room, how many tube amps quit at concerts with 15,000 plus people? Nearly zero...for years and years). Very similar circuits as hifi amps in most cases, but hifi gets the "precious/cautious" baggage attached. I recently had a new "Boutique" Class A hand wired all tube guitar head dropped by UPS so hard it bent the entire corner of the amp (heavy "lunchbox" style steel case) and after getting the kinks sorted with vice grips the amp works perfectly with no tube damage or any other damage. The myth of tube amp failure issues continues, and if you're too weak (disabled and extreme geezers excepted) to schlep a dead amp in for repairs or package it in the original box you should have kept, you're a wimp. Period.