2. amps-preamps
  3. 173968-1453

China built tube amps

Well I had an interesting conversation today. I contacted a large dealer and let him know I would like to buy a certain integrated tube amplifier that is made in China. I was told he wouldn't sell me one. He said they are all junk.  Prima Luna, Line Magnetic, Cayin, etc, etc, he said forget it. If you want a tube amplifier buy an American or European built unit that can be serviced.

So, I am new to valve amplifiers and I want to try one to understand what they're all about and sort of get my feet wet with tube rolling etc. I don't want to spend a lot of money at first which is why I was looking at Chinese built integrateds. So my question is, without getting into any particular brand other than what I have already mentioned, what is your experience with Chinese built tube amps? As a whole are they reliable? Am I wasting my money if I buy one according to this dealer? I have to admit I was rather taken aback by how adamant he was. Thoughts anyone?

128x128falconquest

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,469 posts
 

@chorus 

 

A friend of mine has hear the Audio Research I-50. He says it sound fantastic, much like the ARC VSI 75… only cheaper. I love the sound of the VSI 75, if I needed an integrated in this price range, I would be buying one. $5K.

ghdprentice
6,469 posts
 

I have owned a Chinese integrated amp for over ten years. It was a good deal for the money. If you want a budget amp, it can be a great choice. Very nice stuff. I have an early Primaluna. Screaming deal for $2K.

If you are looking for state of the art, fantastic sounding audio… well you are not going to get it from there. Not that it couldn’t be, but real high end audio comes from the US, Europe and Japan. Most of the cutting edge is still US. It will likely change, but for the last fifty years cutting edge high end audio has been primarily USA… with some good stuff coming from Europe and Japan.

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