My Cayin-TA 30 with the right tubes has a great sound and has very surprising bass. It is no longer made but the Primaluna Prolouge 1 is an essential clone with auto bias feature and has received rave reviews. Prior to that I used a restored Fisher 400 receiver with original tubes. It was unbelievably sweet sounding for the money but lacked the bass and overall balance of the Cayin in my system. Of course it did have a fantastic tuner section, and it was all in one unit, which received much approval in my household.
How to pick a tubed integrated without hearing one
I am taking the plunge into tubes. I do not see alot of manufactureres i am familiar with in the classifieds. How do i pick the right one ? I will be driving a small to medium sized bookshelf speaker . Probably a 8ohm model . My room is 11x14 .Should i only stick to names i have seen advertised in mags ? Will all of these have a similar sound/build quality.reliablity ? My budget will be around $1000 (used). Any info on these questions or on something i missed would be appreciated.