Affordable tube amps basic and integrated

[Gregadd]

it was a time where I wanted a tube amp, but I thought they were too expensive. My first hybrid tube amp was the Moscode 300. I then replaced it with the CJ MV50.
Lately I have seen some relatively inexpensive tube amp offerings that appear to be aimed at the novice or budget minded audiophile. I have not been able to audition them. They do however seem worthy of audiophile consideration.
I think this might be a good thread to list the contenders for those who are interested. An arbitrary cut off point might be $5k USD.
Here is an example.$2695 on Amazon

 

[kach22i]

I'm curious too.

I saw something on Cragislist, low end stuff from China (Amazon special), he had to repair it because of cheap construction that didn't take kindly to shipping, circuits board ripping loose, tubes improperly packed and destroyed.

He was trying to sell an ongoing repair project, got it working, had some fun with it and was trying to recoup his losses.

I have enough repair projects.

I suppose if you buy from a dealer that goes through it rather than an importer/seller you can skip some of the headaches.

I recently went to a going out of business stereo store sale, had a well known brand name amp, a 20 year old demo/trade-in mint condition at the top of my budget. However when I Googled it found out some of the parts inside that go bad are no longer available, so it would be a $2,000 paperweight at the first signs of trouble.

Cheap stuff from China that self destructs with no servicing infrastructure or 20 year old USA with unobtainium parts.........ain't no thing as a free lunch, might have to bite the bullet and pay up front for some reputable equipment.

 

[Gregadd]

Caveat emptor. It may also be that you would have to return it to China for repair. A blanket claim that Chinese products are "cheap" is a bet of a stereotype. A significant portion of retail price is labor and markup. As a long time participant I know many have ben left holding the bag of an expensive American made product for no other reason. than the company went out of business. .Or because it changed ownership.
I do not warrant these products . I only present them for consideration. I would expect you to do your due diligence and enter a transaction with your eyes wide open. If something appears to be too good to be true then you are warned.

 

[kach22i]

...............If something appears to be too good to be true then you are warned.

Reminds me of a discussion some of the hovercraft guys were having about a few Harbor Freight products (several years ago).

1. Small Chinese 4-stroke Briggs & Straton "style" engines not a good power-plant to design a hovercraft project around because of replacement part availability.

2. Harbor Freight trailers a good starting point to build off from, just hold the weight down.

In general from what I've read about the too good to be true amps, longevity isn't a strong point but that is a generalization, some quality stuff coming out of that country, but usually at quality pricing. I think culturally, the saying "you get what you paid for" is the motto.

I've also read some things about the scaled down crotch rocket style motorcycles, a few weeks of fun, then the welder comes out to fix the frame, and usually because of supply line issues a redesign of critical segments follows until it is a Frankenstein.

 

[Gregadd]

My point is we need to be careful assigning stereotypes to products from China or any other country for that matter. Indeed products made there are often done so to specifications from foreign countries , America included.