Where do the tubes go?

Charles, Your experience has been fine, but is by no means universal. A major hurdle, IMHO, is matching the tube amps output impedance (curve) with the speakers frequency response. Not a simple issue for most, but especially for a tyro who has no experience with the wide range of possibilities available to him and can easily chose an amp that will sound like crap just because it is a tonal or electrical mismatch. He will need guidance by some one familiar with his speakers, his environment, as well as what he expects tonally. Just determining the type of amp he will enjoy most is no small task. A 300b amp is just one of many possibilities which will work fine.

Maintenance wise, the only really major issue, apart from the quality of the units themselves and their ability to provide long service with out premature failures, is, if one is not a techie and has an amp which blows out a resistor when he has a power tube failure has to truck the amp off to a repair shop or mail it somewhere for repairs. Simple repairs, not too expensive, but many tube amps are very heavy and a PITA to haul about. Now if he were a techie he could simply replace the resister himself. No big deal.

I think telling someone to just 'jump in, the waters fine', should only be given to someone to who has learned about the water, i.e. its depth, temp, and any hidden currents, so they will not just find themselves over their head and freezing after they jump in. :-)

FWIW I have several high power tube amps which are or have been, ultimately, fine boat anchors. ARC, Sonic Frontiers, Mesa, Cayin, and some I've probably forgot.

Newbee,
We are all just sharing our individual experiences which surely will differ.
Amp- speaker match is of course a factor, but this applies to "all
amplifiers" not just tube models. Any solid state amp just can`t be
tossed into a system without some thought and consideration.Perhaps my
experience with tube amps were less problematic than yours or things
worked out differently for what ever the reason. I do agree that some
degree of research is necessary to get the right match. I however don`t
believe tube amps are some exotic beast that must be handled carfully
while SS amps have no concerns at all and just work with any speaker,
they don`t. Anyway we`re just two guys trying to be helpful with our
different perspectives, we both mean well. Sorry about your problem with
boat anchors-
high power tube amps, personally I much prefer the low and moderate
power tube amps with efficient easy to drive speakers.
Charles,

I would start with a tubed pre-amp or a self-biasing integrated amp. You will be able to roll tubes to experiment with little technical skill. Also Wolf Garcia's suggestion of Jolida which is easy to bias.

Most of the tube units that come in for repair from my experience have failed because of poor design. Sometimes not enough room inside, sometimes poor circuit board thickness, and poor overall design to handle what a component should be able to deliver without breaking down. Even some of the higher priced units I see are made poorly.

Happy Listening.

"1. Would most people recommend an all tube system, or do you recommend starting with only a tube component or two.

2. What are the relative merits and disadvantages of placing tubes at various stations in a system CD-->pre amp --> amp ?"

The only way to answer those questions is to go out and listen for yourself. If you do otherwise, you'll probably waste your money.