I need tube sound without the tubes

Like many of the respondents above I can't see why you have had so much trouble with tube amps. If you think back, before solid state wastubes, and everything ran on tubes, mostly, with little problem. The only difference is that now many tube amp designers are actually from a solid state background where it's standard practice to run everything at about 94% of its maximum rating as a norm. This is not good news for tubes. they prefer to run at their sweet spot, which is usually about 65% running (giving massive room for inadvertant overload, abuse etc). All the guitarists who use tube amps in the world can't all be wrong.... And do you really need all that power? I have a system which runs 12watt amps into InnerSound stat hybrids in a 20x15 room with no volume problems! As long as your amp is well built, not pushing the limits of the components, well ventilated, and of good sound design you won't go far wrong. Caps tend to go before tubes, so get any caps checked out first. My recommendations; vocale tube amps (vocale@aol.com), or Sugden solid state, class A jobs. Don't give up; tubes are the way to go. graham

Have you looked into Jolida amps (the 202A or the 302A should be in your price range)? They have decent amount of power and you get tube sound within your budget! FYI, I think there is a Jolida JD202A unit in the Classified section for $550. Good luck and happy listening!

Man, I must second that emotion regarding the YBA Audio Refinement Complete. It is amazing at $1k retail. I dont own one, but if I were ever "slumming" (lol) I could own one these things, stop reading the magazines, and Be happy forever. Now I have a CJ tube pre, and a McCormack amp. Great combination. Lots more $ than the A.R. Complete. But I'm telling you, it is a SS integrated, with the tight quick SS bass, and the most amazingly smooth mids you may have ever heard. Treble is friendly, too. If you have the means, I highly reccomend it. Listened to Jolida integrated too, which WAS my pick for budget nirvana. No Contest. If you must have separates, the Audio Analogue stuff is great, tubey sound too. I think I saw one under "amps" yesterday. Good luck

I second the opinions on the Jolida and Musical Fidelity. Just make sure you get the previous generation MF, as they are moving away from the tube sound. In my opinion, there is no substitute for tubes. A solid state amp is often marketed as the designer's most "tubelike" yet. That is, until the next model. Tube amps never face this. It seems that tube people often can sniff out a SS product pretending to sound like tubes. I find their best efforts show the mosfet "haze" common to products trying to sound warm, or the dry mids for the bipolar designs. That doesn't mean I think there aren't good SS products out there. A used Jolida can fit into your budget. I think they sound very good, especially when you replace the cheap Chinese tubes(many used ones have already had this done). The sound is not far from many of the more expensive brands(they sound like tubes!). You get a detachable power cord, an upgrade right there if you ever have the money down the road. I have never heard of reliability problems with Jolida, and I have steered MANY musician friends to them. And these people really beat the hell out of these amps. But, one thing they always say, they'll never buy another solid state amp.

Have you tried B&K, used ST140s go for $2-300 used. The later models are 105 watts per channel. They also run relatively cool. I purchased mine new 8 years ago and have only had to replace it fuses once due to my monkeying around without thinking. They are not very detailed amps, but are extremely smooth.