Inexpensive Tube Amps

Look at YouTube before buying nobsound. Guy takes apart his hybrid tube/SS amp to discover the tube section is fake!  The transformer covers are empty!  

If Yaqin is still on your list, look up the Yaqin group on Facebook. They have knowledge, own the products, and there is a thriving subset of them that do modifications, not just tube rolling. 

I have a couple of low power integrated tube amps, one at home and one at work and have tried them with speakers ranging from my Martin Logans @ 89dB/4ohm to my horn-loaded single drivers @ 95dB/8ohms and a couple of other speakers like Vandersteen 2Ci, Def Tech BP20, etc., in between. You can make music and hear it at a decent volume but playing loud is very different from hearing the recorded dynamics of the instruments, vocals not so much. Try playing an orchestral or a rock track at moderate listening levels and you'll get the point. Even a simple jazz trio will lack the dynamics when the power is not adequate for the target speakers. Playing loud is easy - think a $50 boombox, recreating the music dynamics is a different story. 
 

I wanted to update everyone on the Tube Cube7 amp performance.

Swapped out the tubes for the new edition of the Mallards (Mullard) for both the Power (EL84/6BQ5) and Pre amp (12AX7/ECC83). Also switched speaker cables from the AQ Type 4 to KnuKonceptz Kord Kable 14 Gauge speaker wire. What a difference. Bass is improved and also there is more air around the instruments i.e. better separation than with the stock Sino tubes. And I get a bit more sound stage with this speaker wire vs. the Type 4. Best of all, I can now use my Castle Conway 3 speakers with this amp and it will play as loud as the Mirage speakers. More than loud enough for me now even if I am sitting in a adjacent room and listening to the Castles! Great amp for the price.