bennos28 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 (edited) Item: Budget Valve Amp Location: melbourne Item Condition: Reasonable Condition Price: Up to $800 Payment Method: However the seller wants Extra Info Heard my first valve amp(cayin a-50T) at focus sound this wknd and the quality and finest details convinced me to try to pursue this avenue on a budget as opposed to my NAD setup running through a tube buffer. have been reading into the chinese yaqin etc amps available on a budget on ebay, however the lack of absolute confidence in these products convinced me to try this forum first to see if any members had anything they felt was surplus to their needs. my room is about 5m x 4m and would be running a pair of paradigm monitor 9 v.5. thanks benn Edited November 24, 2008 by bennos28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 There were some good amps listed here; Check out the Cymer push pulls and the Audion push pulls that a couple of members were advertising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz lightyear Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi Bennos i have listened to a couple of different yaqin valve amps that a friend bought china my opinion is stay away i did not like them at all. your best bet is to go for the better end of the chinga gear....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennos28 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 Thanks for the reply. beautiful amps you mentioned there. unfortunately both are well outside my financial limits. the amps i heard over the wknd, both the cayin a-50t and the melody sp3 were on special at around $1300 and as much as i thought about selling every possession i own to get my hands on one, i dont have the means right now. i realise its basically unrealistic to think somone may have a valve amp under $800 but it cant hurt to hope. cheers benn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennos28 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 thanks for the advice buzz. ive been looking into ming da and shanling amps also, but they also seem to be well outside my range unfortunately. has anyone had any experience with the citypulse audio SA-77 or the gennari amps that pop up on ebay once in a while? both are around the price i can afford. or would you guys suggest to keep saving until i can afford something like a lower end melody or cayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz lightyear Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi bennos take my advice and keep on saving you wont regret it in the end that's what i try to stick with you will be much happier ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyadvanced Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/showthread.php?t=10813 i'm selling one buy yourself a new tube and you're set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz lightyear Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi just noticed that your from melbourne have a look at hifi exchange they are box hill they have a few good amps for sale . Try and google them they do have a quexing valve amp for sale for $800 i have bought items from them before and they are a honest bunch of audiophile people.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennos28 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 i have had a look at the hifi exchange gear and should get out to their store on sat to have a listen as they seem to have some beautiful amps for sale. would any of the amps they have listed come close to the cayin or melody? they had such gorgeous rich sounds im not sure i want to compromise. im hoping someone on these forums has an older version of one of these amps they no longer use or have another chinese quality amp that i may be able to grab. listening to the nad last night just felt like the music i was hearing was muffled and bland. once your eyes are opened to what is out there i can see why you guys strive constantly for the perfect sound to your ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennos28 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 what are some of the other chinese amps close to my budget that you guys suggest, if yaqin arent all that great? and from the shipping costs i see these amps have i could have payed for most of a cayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herringboy47 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Hi I have a Cymer integrated for sale will post on this forum later. 30watts class a and 70watts class b. EL34's (8 of em) - bit more than you want to spend at $1400 but well worth it. Have some pics if you want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gat474 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Osborn Loudspeakers had one for sale on the specials page on the website. I had this at home for a day and it was really pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarwickF Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Hi Bennos We have the Eastern Electric Minimax integrated on special for $880 at the moment. This is a good sounding amplifier with remote volume. Might be worth a try. Info here. Give me a call if you want a demo. Warwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricka Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 (edited) You might like to give Ricky at Tube Focus a tingle: he has a few of the Tecon EL34 (which at 8wpc Class A) and is a nice amp. I had one here for about 6 months. If you likes the el34 they may be worth a look. Email is tubefocusaustralia@hotmail.com Also second warwick's sugg of a demo. Oh..I just spotted this over at Greg's: http://www.osbornloudspeakers.com.au/ on the specials page: "I only have one left. My normal full 2 year warranty applies and after that, any problems will be at minimal cost. The biasing controls are conveniently placed on either side of the amp, so bias can be easily checked in seconds. 40 watts per channel, using 2 of EL34 per channel running in Pentode, push-pull. My new price $1,540 One only $890" Now that is cheap. Cheers Tricka Edited November 25, 2008 by tricka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennos28 Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 thanks for all the replies, keep them coming. some of the amps suggested have been on the lower scale of wattage and i understand the paradigms have a high efficiency rating but would the amps still be able to deliver the higher volumes and deeper bass i love? or did i jump in the deep end and hear some of the higher quality valve amps in the cayin and melody and unrealisticly think i may be able to produce the quality of sound on a budget? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jliang70 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 (edited) thanks for all the replies, keep them coming. some of the amps suggested have been on the lower scale of wattage and i understand the paradigms have a high efficiency rating but would the amps still be able to deliver the higher volumes and deeper bass i love? or did i jump in the deep end and hear some of the higher quality valve amps in the cayin and melody and unrealisticly think i may be able to produce the quality of sound on a budget? cheers I think most of amps suggested produce between 30 watts to 70 watts a channel and with the efficiency of Paradigm monitor 9 these amps will deliver the higher volumes and deeper bass you are after. My Tannoy TD10 is rated at 91db for its efficiency similar to your Paradigm monitor 9 and it is currently driven by Melody H300B which produces tiny 8.8 watts a channel but the set up has no problem in achieving great result at realistic listening level and I can go pretty loud with my speaker and amp combination. My friend who sold me the amp also running a pair of Osborn speakers of similiar efficiency with this amp but never complain about lacking of volume with the small amp. With speaker as efficient as Monitor 9 I don't think low output valve amp will be an issue specially with the amps in 30 to 70 watts range.. Edited November 25, 2008 by Jliang70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehtcom Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 If you can live with the lower wattage, the 6BM8 amplifier Warwick has suggested would be well worth a listen. You wont be disappointed. Cheers, Earle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djb Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 ehtcom dont u have a sub $1000 offering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts