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I have always wanted to mess around and try out a tube amp. But my lack of knowledge and price has kept me away. Is there a vintage tube amp or reciever out there that would be good for a rookie? It seems certain models have output tubes that are very expensive, this is what I would like to avoid. Power output is not a big deal, as I would probrably pair it with a pair of Sansui speakers with a sensitivity of 101db/1 watt. And I don't listen to music that loud anyway. Does anyone have any ideas?
Follow Ups:
it's a very nice amp - also very reliable. it uses 4 6bq5 output tubes.thien
FWIW
I run my system with a pair of Sansui 3500 speakers and started out with tubes by picking up a set of Dynaco MKiis on ebay. I used them to learn what makes tube amps tick. Even in triode mode, the Dynacos have enough power to take the Sansuis to party levels.You have a couple of things to consider:
1: Amp vs Receiver
Receivers (Fisher Scott etc.) are nice in that they are compact and offer FM, preamp and amp all in one package. This doesn't give you as much opportunity to play with the circuitry.2: You need to define what you mean by "wanted to mess around" with tubes. Do you what to simply enjoy the music and maybe do some tube rolling? Or... Do you want to learn and eventually build your own? If you want to learn and play with the circuitry, Dynaco worked for me. The MKii/MKiii are nice mono block amps to play with and the ST70 seems to be one of the most popular to restore / mod. Both are push pull style amps. I think that either would be a good value and learning experience.
Whatever you decide, IMHO once you go to tubes you simply can't go back. At least not for serious listening.
Take your time, be safe and read, read, read.
Pete.
Thanks for your input. What I mean by messing around is trying different tubes, and maybe some minor restoration, ie caps. I probrably would go with a amp because I am not into radio too much. I have been collecting solid state gear from the 70's and just want to see what else is out there.
Buzz,I have used (off and on) a Fisher 800C receiver for several years. This one was given to me by the original owner and has all its original tubes, 8- Telefunken 12AX7s still sounding fine after 35 years. The sound is excellent, smooth and liquid, a little soft at the top and bottom, but has all the famous vintage tube qualities- good and bad. The tuner is reasonably selective, and the 32W will be OK for ordinary speakers in a normal sized living room. I used mine with Spectrum 208s which are not too efficient with no problems. The phono stage is quite good with a medium output cartridge like the Shure V15/III I was using.
The tube complement is:
8- 12AX7
4- 7591
2- EM84A
3- 6AU6
6AQ8
6BE6
6EQ7The minuses with the Fisher are that the power output tubes are 7591, and hard to get- well, require looking around and paying! The 6AU6s and the rest are also all NOS now but I recently bought NOS 1950s Tung Sol black plate 6AU6s for $5 each from a dealer- not terribly expensive. The 8- 12AX7s of course can be of current manufacture- the choice will affect the sound quality considerably. Eight NOS Telefunkens might be $800 but 8- EI or Sovteks new $100. You could try NOS 5751s (similar to 12AX7)for $8 each. That's life in the tube world- many more decisions!
There is a least one site "Fisher Doctor" that sells upgrades and parts, does restorations. The little brass knobs ends fall out, but this fellow has new ones, etc.
You might consider getting as clean and good working one as you can on ebay- maybe $300-$400. There are the 400 and 500 receivers but I think that the 400 at least is a difficult kind of early stereo with parallel tuners (?) Ask the seller first about the age and make of tubes as complete retubing may double your investment. Then have someone go through it for capacitors, cleaning the many controls, and tuner alignment. The power output tubes can be converted to a more common type by changing the sockets and some adjustments. You'll probably love the results. Finally, try to get one with the wood cabinet as these can cost 1/3 or 1/2 of the price of the receiver.
As a final testament to the Fisher, the fellow that works on my Audio Research equipment wants to buy the Fisher!
There are of course many alternatives going to seperate components, Scott Fisher, Eico, McIntosh (made tube receivers too) depending on your budget, but the 800 is a nice tube sound and reliable.
Good luck- let us know what you get,
Dr F
I agree that Fisher is a good place to start. You can integrated amps as well as tuners. They are available even cheaper than the Dynaco and have a vintage, warm, musical tube sound. Not transparent enough to get the most out of good front end, but they will certainly take off any digital edge from your CD player. I suspect you will be blown away the first time you hear one. It's a totally different sound from what you're used to.
Like the Antique Sound Labs (ASL) $99.00 6bm8 monoblocks.I belive they are rated at 10W a monoblock.The 6BM8 is a really good tube, inexpensive and currently produced by Svetlana.
...Another possibility is an ALLIED Model 333 am/fm all-tube receiver--this model( I have one)looks nice with
its silver frontplate,has a "magic-eye"tube to help
with station tuning, AND it uses the currently-in-production 6BM8 output
tubes--I bought my Model 333 for $50.---
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