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Tube amps under $7500

Ready to experiment with combinations never before (or not recently) tried. Step one requires a tube amp. Now looking at Prima Luna EVO 400 which sells for 5K. Any other tube amps I should consider in this price/feature range? Must come in silver with balanced input. For pairing experimentally with various tube and SS preamps. Efficient 4 ohm Legacy speakers (and the room/setup) are the constants.

 

hickamore
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,119 posts
 

@hickamore look on a used market. The ST-100 is around $2,000. 
Audio Research would be another recommendation. 
In any case, consider a matching preamp for synergy if possible. 

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,887 posts
 

@hickamore,

Maybe Atma-Sphere M-60 see here! 😎

Mike

hickamore OP
667 posts
 

@audphile1 Just learned that user must re-bias ST-100 tubes every 4 months. Hmmm, yeah -- one of several reasons I have avoided tube amps. Current Prima Luna 400 has autobiasing. Not sure how well it works, but if it does .  .  .

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,119 posts
 

I did it several times on the ST-100 when I had it and it’s super easy to do. Bias meter is built into the amp. Screwdriver is inside the amp as well. Flip the switch on each tube to “bias”, use screwdriver to turn the pot and look at the meter to align the needle on the proper value. 
It takes under 15min to bias those tubes including removing and replacing the cover.

facten
2,881 posts
 

Depending upon the amp tube biasing can take all of a couple of minutes so maybe consider that

 

 

 

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