2. amps-preamps
  3. 1340418561

Looking for best $1000 tube power amp

Hi everyone,

I'm completely new to the speaker world and speaker amps as well. That said, I'm looking for a tube power amp.

New or Used

Other components: MHDT Havana (NOS Tube DAC), Decware CSP2 Tube Pre-Amp (I can nix this and add $1000 to the budget for both a Pre AND power or integrated; not preferred though since I like its HP amp.)

Price range: $1000 for only power amp($2000 *ONLY* if there's a massive, NOT merely incremental upgrade in that range)

If nixing the CSP2 pre-amp, $2000 for Pre AND power, $3k if there's a massive upgrade.

Favored sound: Musicality, euphony, emotional involvement. Lushness, smoothness, whatever you'd think of when you hear the word tubes. I could honestly give a rat's ass about accuracy.

Setup: Small rooms, 1200cu ft. Plan to play at moderately high volumes (-15dB to -10dB from reference)

Speakers: Do not have yet; most in consideration are bookshelf 8ohm and at the least sensitive, 85.5db. That said, I'd prefer a amp with wide compatibility unless if it comes at a cost of worse SQ or inability to play at decent volume.

Thanks guys!
hygienist
devilboy
1,175 posts
 
Lloydelee21: Thanks. Yes, the OP said the LOWEST speaker sensitivity was 85.5db. I just meant that he/she should explore speakers with a higher sensitivity because frankly, a $1,000 tube amp will generally be a lower output amp.

Hygienist: You are looking for a $1,000 tube amp (which IMO will be somewhat low in watts), I'm selling a pair of Omega MaxHemp V2 speakers. They are 96db. I purchased directly from Louis Chochos. Sorry to plug them on your thread but I just wanted to let you know.
wolf_garcia
6,631 posts
 
I went looking for a tube power amp a few months ago and found that the least expensive (by far) option that made sense to me ...new anyway...is Jolida. Period. Bought the newest version of the JD502P via Rick at Audioforce (nice guy, great deal), got the factory mods (warranty...you get a warranty!), and off I went having no idea what it would sound like in my system. Wow. I've become a fledgling tube monger. The amp is a quiet powerhouse of tubey fun, it's well made, looks killer, sounds really sweet without being too greasy, and cost less than my cables. A lot less. A slammin' 60 tube watts per side, and if you need more you can buy 2 and bridge 'em for 120 watts or something, and still be in cheapskate land.
metman
233 posts
 
Plenty of good suggestions here. I would also recommend you contact Jim Nichols from JWN amps. He will build you a custom tube amp for well under $1000.00 that is auto-bias and accepts virtually any power tube type, and did I mention it sounds great as well
More to discover