I was in your shoes 2 years ago. I was looking at going with a McIntosh Hybrid Integrated amp. I went to Richmond to listen to it and it really didn’t do it for me. They had a pair of Mc275’s that we hooked up and it was more my taste, but brought in the need for a pre-amp. Trying to get the best bang for the buck as we all are doing, I did my research and ended up with building my own mono blocks from Tubes 4 Hifi. I was looking for higher power than you are, I’m running a pair of their M125’s (roughly 120watts each- with KT120’s). Also built the SP-14 from them for my pre-amp. Had a couple of headaches due to the transformers not being wired properly out of the factory, but once we solved that issue, smooth sailing, absolutely love this setup. Getting ready to build a phono stage and get me a Scout II.
Your journey with lower-watt tube amps -- Can a kit be good enough?
Looking for stories about your low-watt amp journeys.
Here's the situation: I have new speakers, 97 db. Trying them with lower watt tube amps (45/211, 300b, etc) seems generally wise. I am attempting to borrow some from audiophiles in the area.
The horizon beyond trying these things involves actually buying some. I'm looking at a budget limit of about $5k.
Curious as to folks' experience with lower-watt amp kits vs. those of good makers (e.g. Dennis Had, etc.).
If you have any thoughts about the following, I'd be interested:
Did you start out with a kit and then get dissatisfied? Why?
Did you compare kits vs. pre-made and find big differences?
Did you find you could get the equivalent level of quality in a kit for much less than the same pre-made version? How about kit vs. used?
Also: did you find there was a difference between "point to point wiring" vs. "PCB" in these various permutations?
I realize that there are good kits and bad ones, good pre-made amps and bad ones. I'm hoping you'll be comparing units which seem at comparable levels of quality and price-points.
Thanks.