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.
@audition__audio OTL amps are out of the question for my speakers. I’m sure that with some, OTL amplification would be perfect. @mdalton @larryi @darkblacksmoke Your insights come as a reminder that I am working with humble $10k speakers plus a modest amp upgrade budget. Need to forget bi-amping, leave my subs offline, choose the best one-chassis solution (more to this decision than pure SQ) and think more about what to do when my DAC dies. |
RE: McIntosh Resale Value Like anything, certain models hold more value than others. Rolex is a strong analog for McIntosh in that regard. Undoubtedly which models and how much those models retain in value is impacted by the size and quality of the market in which they are marketed and sold. I just sold an MC302 in less than a week for close to what I bought it for new six years ago. But I'm in the US not Canada. I certainly agree, however, that McIntosh resale value is often touted as some kind of golden absolute with no wrong choices, when it is anything but.
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it’s very much like a net present value calculation of an investment that yields income. the npv = discounted cash flows + resale value. so for a piece of gear, the “cash flows” are the annual benefits of enjoying the gear. so, one piece of gear could have higher annual cash flows (greater enjoyment), but lower resale. because of those cash flows, it may actually be a much better investment. In other words, resale value tends to be overrated. As as with any investment, it often depends on what discount rate you assume, lol! |
Something tells me that's not your first time putting that formula into play. No matter, I couldn't agree more. While price (and resale price) is a consideration, it's a rather distant cousin to the priority of value. At least for me. I'm often surprised by how often people fail to make the distinction.
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