China built tube amps

Most statements made which rely on having to make such obvious generalizations are open to scrutiny. I’d go further and say that they positively invite scrutiny - as you are doing, and that’s tremendous..

By scrutiny I mean asking further questions and doing research into not just the brands but knowing a bit about each feature of tube amplification. You need to know how the transformers are constructed and how many windings and other technical things. Issues that may be not so relevant to solid state amps..

That's just one trite example of many possible issues.

This might freak some people out and there are specialist forums which may be informative.

Country of manufacture is a signal as to quality but is about as big a generalization as anyone could ever make (and sometimes they can be very accurate, of course, but rarely) and so back to my first statement.

Relax dude! 
I’ve owned Primaluna gear and they are fantastic if paired with the correct speaker in the correct room! When I lived in a cold climate

with a large home tubes were great! Now resettled in Florida tubes lost out due to the heat factor!

lots to consider- but making a decision based on country of origin is a bad move!

Consider the parameters 

the room

the heat 

that tubes need changing and that could be problematic too

also consider your music source 

lots of solid state units that can give the tube experience less the heat/tube factor

Peachtree, Cambridge, Rotel ( yes Rotel) are very pleasing full sounding amps!

Relax dude! 
I’ve owned Primaluna gear and they are fantastic if paired with the correct speaker in the correct room! When I lived in a cold climate

with a large home tubes were great! Now resettled in Florida tubes lost out due to the heat factor!

lots to consider- but making a decision based on country of origin is a bad move!

Consider the parameters 

the room

the heat 

that tubes need changing and that could be problematic too

also consider your music source 

lots of solid state units that can give the tube experience less the heat/tube factor

Peachtree, Cambridge, Rotel ( yes Rotel) are very pleasing full sounding amps!

Don’t try to satisfy a budget ! Expensive alone does not mean easy listening!

I’ve been down the “Rolls Royce” pathway !

this field is saturated with snake oil

what is important:

zero fatigue 

a good music source

High impact crisp hi and punchy bass are cute but to be able to turn it on and sit back and enjoy the music is what counts.

 Bei g restricted to a sweet spot is not fun-

i just went through a metamorphosis and got lucky

with my gear and the room and now I can enjoy music and read at the s  as me time - zero fatigue and not bright 

Nevertheless, different gear will have a different acoustic footprint but we all need to relax and enjoy the music. 

What is seldom talked about is a conditioner!

where I reside the electric source is a mess and v noisy. I purchased a conditioner

from Furman and it made an audible difference. One of the few “tweaks” that was worthy!

this year I purchased a Streamer, an integrated amp, a turntable, and speakers that were all refurbished from the manufacturer directly! I did not save anything- I just spent less! Many manufacturers offer outlet or b stock items with full warranty. This is probably due to consumers who can decide what to buy and return. If one looks carefully refurbished gear is plentiful from any manufacturer!

I only wish I did this over the years!

But the line conditioner was a good find!

I suggest that all get familiar with what is humanly audible vs what is pushed!

Can we hear the difference between a file that is 44.1 vs 96 vs 320 sample rate?

can we hear the difference between 15, 18 , 24 or 32 bit rates of the same music file ?

it’s time to enjoy the music-