Inexpensive Tube Amps

Will62,

followed this post from a week or so ago. I have bought quite a few of the chinese amps, more out of curiosity than anything else. Most are very musical and offer a lot of value for the money.

So Last week, decided to order a Gentune verion of the Nobsound amp.

Appears to be identical other than the name on the front.

Tried it with 87db to 91db eff. speakers. It drove the 87 db fairly well before running out of gas. Quite musical sounding amp. on the 91db speakers. Pulled the bottom cover off. One big PCB wiith everything soldered to it...

tried some different tubes in the amp. have to say the PSVANEs that come with it sound better (more open) than any of the Russian versions I tried.

If you pop for it, don't think you will dislike it. a very pleasant amp to listen to....if it were hot rodded, would only get better......

J 

will62 has not shown up for a while, as I suppose a few of us hurt his feelings.......

Interesting thread. I'm coming in pretty late. I've seen this before and it seems like the OP is looking for support for his choices. Opinions were given regarding potential QC issues of a Chinese made product at a very low price point which is valid. Also, he mentions not needing a lot of power which is true except when the dynamics of the music call for more. Then the system will sound weak. In this price range I'd look for SS amplification. There are far more choices with proven suppliers.

@will62 I checked out the Gemtune online store after looking at your links. Much of their stock is marked "Sold Out", though they still have the Amazon model available for the same price. They also feature several Yaquins, which are significantly more, but add some street cred to the storefront.

FWIW, $269 is NOT that big of a gamble when it comes to an amplifier! Especially with Amazon's return policy.

There's a review of a Nobsound product here:

https://toptubeamplifier.com/review-of-the-nobsound-ms-10d-mkii-hybrid-tube-amplifier/

Though not the 6P1, it does bring up some good and bad points; however, when it comes to repair, you probably know a good electronics shop in your area that could bench test and repair anything that went wrong with the unit. And again, it's only $240. Some audiophiles spend that much on a wall outlet, for some reason.

@pawlowski6132 And that's why audiophilia as a hobby is dying out.

I mean, anyone who's interested in good sound should be considered fairly, whether or not they can "blink" at dropping 10 G's on a component. If someone's blinded into equating money with value, that's their myopia.