Tube integrated amps -- new Value Leaders?

ne I have been curious about is on Ebay literally 20 Line Magnetic 211ia amps for sale from different sellers in China ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reason for sooooo many sellers in the KT series amps, is due to lower demand/interest.

Folks are now starting to look toward the SET/DHT designs. The mids have more nuance with DHT type tubes vs KT series. I said **nuance** I did not say major noticable difference.

I bet once I get the Defy tubed w KT90’s, we could do a **guess what amp is behind the curtain** with a 845, 211, 805 , on some recordings, it might be nothing more than a lucky guess. But all in all, to do it all over again, I’d pass on a KT series amp and go straight for a DHT either the 300B (which my tech says avoid at all costs, yet look at how many designs out there WITH 300B tubes!!!!) , 2A3 (has alot of votes) , 45 tube(even more votes vs 2A3), or the bigger brothers, 211, 805, 845 and others. There will be a further price drop on the KT series this summer, you watch. DHT’s are the real deal and catching on like wild fire. 20 yrs ago, you could not find even a used SET under say $3k.

I’ve been using old Dynaco amps for years and learned how to listen and now have moved to SET amps and super efficient speakers. But before I would purchase a tube amp off of Amazon with a repair facility no where in the country I would look at the Tube4HIFI option. You can buy them assembled with volume control and an ultra linear switch. If you look at the offshore brands they are pretty much copies of the Dynaco design. Same tube compliment but with different more modern look.

To me what’s important are transformers and tube rectifiers. You do only get one input and no remote control if that’s important it’s not a good match but if you want an amplifier that has had a following for over 50 years it’s definitely worth a look.

@alan60 

Your prime driver seems to be just getting a perceived bargain, so you can say to yourself this sounds good and it only cost me X. I don't see how you can dispel Line Magnetic just because it is 'slightly older' brand they make fantastic amps at a very reasonable price.

I'm not sure how you can presume what my primary driver is. By the way, I've owned several amps that are up to $10K, so please keep your assumptions to yourself. The only reason I didn't include Line Magnetic is that it is a well-established, and well-known entity on these forums. I have heard LM amps on a few occasions and agree with everyone that these amps can hang with the big boys like ARC or VAC. I wanted to focus on the players in the lower price brackets that are not discussed on these forums as much. My intention was to understand if these are really a bargain, and how do they compare to other middle of the road models like Raven Blackhawk or Primulana amps.

@danager Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think TubeHifi offers an integrated amps. But you're right, they seem to be a very good deal compared to the other brands I mentioned in this thread.

Black Ice is owned by Underwood HiFi.

Wally is a standup guy.