I am going to have a little try of valves ...

chebby

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It might be a completely reburbished/rebuilt valve radio (with VHF/FM), or a very reasonably priced, second-hand, class A, valve integrated that can drive my 90dB Audio Note speakers.

Budget depends on which option I pick, but it will not exceed £500* for various reasons. (Eg. Possible DAC purchase.)

My 'leaning' is for a very nicely rebuilt valve radio with VHF.

*Not even by one penny.
 

tino

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chebby said:
It might be a completely reburbished/rebuilt valve radio (with VHF/FM), or a very reasonably priced, second-hand, class A, valve integrated that can drive my 90dB Audio Note speakers.

Budget depends on which option I pick, but it will not exceed £500* for various reasons. (Eg. Possible DAC purchase.)

My 'leaning' is for a very nicely rebuilt valve radio with VHF.

*Not even by one penny.
Good to hear ... hope you find the sound and nostalgia you are looking for ...

* BTW ... have you seen this ? 40W, valves (albeit a hybrid design), within budget , and a sprinkling of mod-cons which you may find useful
 

drummerman

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Cool.

I dont know where you get a reasonably priced, refurbished amp but I have fond memories of the Audio Innovation Integrated I had.

What connections do you need for your DAC?
 

Macspur

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tino said:
chebby said:
It might be a completely reburbished/rebuilt valve radio (with VHF/FM), or a very reasonably priced, second-hand, class A, valve integrated that can drive my 90dB Audio Note speakers.

Budget depends on which option I pick, but it will not exceed £500* for various reasons. (Eg. Possible DAC purchase.)

My 'leaning' is for a very nicely rebuilt valve radio with VHF.

*Not even by one penny.
Good to hear ... hope you find the sound and nostalgia you are looking for ...

* BTW ... have you seen this ? 40W, valves (albeit a hybrid design), within budget , and a sprinkling of mod-cons which you may find useful
Looks interesting Mac www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
 

drummerman

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Trawling through ebay for my own amusement looking at the weird and wonderful world of cheap chinese trash the names of said products nevertheless show endless imagination; Nobsound MS-10D ... Intimidation V1 ...

Bloody Chinese :)
 
chebby said:
It might be a completely reburbished/rebuilt valve radio (with VHF/FM), or a very reasonably priced, second-hand, class A, valve integrated that can drive my 90dB Audio Note speakers.

Budget depends on which option I pick, but it will not exceed £500* for various reasons. (Eg. Possible DAC purchase.)

My 'leaning' is for a very nicely rebuilt valve radio with VHF.

*Not even by one penny.

Did you have any preferrence as to the valve radio manufacturer?

There are a few on this website:- http://www.pasttimesradio.co.uk/resradio/restored.html

However a lot of them have been sold as they don't appear to hang around. I would imagine valve amps are more plentiful.

Not that I know too much about them but the Pye Fenman II was very highly regarded if you can ever find such a beastie...
 

chebby

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macdiddy said:
£500 is not a great budget for a proper valve amp ...

That's why I would go second-hand.

Anyway, if that's not possible then plan B (fully rebuilt/refurbished valve radio) should be within budget, or the world's gone mad!
 

drummerman

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I'd save cash on the DAC (see Hifime's site for some examples ... bloody chinese again but in this case they know what they're doing) and spend the money on the valve amp.

Over budged by 300 quid a nice boxed Prima Luna Prologue Classic Integrated, barely used and top condition for just over £800. Perhaps you can do a deal. 40w/ch KT88's. Emporium Hifi.

Its where my money would probably go after a quick search. Looks good too.
 
chebby said:
It might be a completely reburbished/rebuilt valve radio (with VHF/FM), or a very reasonably priced, second-hand, class A, valve integrated that can drive my 90dB Audio Note speakers.

Budget depends on which option I pick, but it will not exceed £500* for various reasons. (Eg. Possible DAC purchase.)

My 'leaning' is for a very nicely rebuilt valve radio with VHF.

*Not even by one penny.

I would keep an eye out for a Leak Troughline. Whether it'll have enough connections, I doubt... every review I've read (historical and more recent) has been superb.
 

chebby

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Al ears said:
chebby said:
macdiddy said:
£500 is not a great budget for a proper valve amp ...

That's why I would go second-hand.

Anyway, if that's not possible then plan B (fully rebuilt/refurbished valve radio) should be within budget, or the world's gone mad!

Aha! I thought that was your Plan A....

Please note the 'leaning' comment in my first post and the order I wrote about the two options in the first sentence.

The radio is plan A.

A look at ebay shows that valve amps are simply not do-able (even used ones).
 
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake... ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft-acoustic-40w-pc-26-kg-new-valves-inc-spare-set/1207179457
 

insider9

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Al ears said:
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake...  ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft...
Woooooow!!! Looks great.

Half the distance and I'd be thinking if I should try it for myself :)
 
insider9 said:
Al ears said:
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake... ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft...
Woooooow!!! Looks great.

Half the distance and I'd be thinking if I should try it for myself :)

Well, with that £100.01 chebby would have left out of his budget he should be able to afford a courier.... even if it weights 26Kg :)
 

insider9

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Al ears said:
insider9 said:
Al ears said:
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake...  ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft...
Woooooow!!! Looks great.

Half the distance and I'd be thinking if I should try it for myself :)

Well, with that £100.01 chebby would have left out of his budget he should be able to afford a courier.... even if it weights 26Kg  :)
Don't think I'd trust a courier with a valve amp.

By the way, Chebby I was only joking it's all yours. If it was any closer I'd offer to go up and get it today so you don't miss out though.
 
insider9 said:
Al ears said:
insider9 said:
Al ears said:
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake... ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft...
Woooooow!!! Looks great.

Half the distance and I'd be thinking if I should try it for myself :)

Well, with that £100.01 chebby would have left out of his budget he should be able to afford a courier.... even if it weights 26Kg :)
Don't think I'd trust a courier with a valve amp.

By the way, Chebby I was only joking it's all yours. If it was any closer I'd offer to go up and get it today so you don't miss out though.

I wouldn't have a problem with courier / amp as it's probably built like a tank ...... the valves themselves, once removed, on the other hand may pose a problem. I note it actually comes with a spare set as well. Imagine enough would survive to make up a full complement :)

If not EL34's are pretty cheap... (x4 matched for around £52)
 

Infiniteloop

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Al ears said:
chebby said:
Oh yeah. I am agreeing with you.

Sorry. It's very early still.

It was, but I'm on night shift so possibly a tad more awake... ;-)

I cannot recall where you live chebby but this one (Plan A) is in Bournemouth:-

https://www.gumtree.com/p/amplifiers/valve-tubehifi-amplifier-el34-craft...

This looks like a great place to start. My money would go here Chebby. Good luck, and if you go ahead, I'd be very interested in what you think of the 'Valve sound'.

My bet is that you'll be smitten.....*yes3*
 
chebby said:
Al ears said:
chebby said:
macdiddy said:
£500 is not a great budget for a proper valve amp ...

That's why I would go second-hand.

Anyway, if that's not possible then plan B (fully rebuilt/refurbished valve radio) should be within budget, or the world's gone mad!

Aha! I thought that was your Plan A....

Please note the 'leaning' comment in my first post and the order I wrote about the two options in the first sentence.

The radio is plan A.

A look at ebay shows that valve amps are simply not do-able (even used ones).

Little confused, Chebby. Looking for a valve amp or tuner seems go against your hi-fi tenets: Usually you crave small or discreet equipment, yet these valve amps tend to have agricultural aesthetics. Your speakers tend to hark back to a more retro era... is it purely a curiosity phase or is there genuine need for a change?
 

chebby

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plastic penguin said:
Little confused, Chebby. Looking for a valve amp or tuner seems go against your hi-fi tenets: Usually you crave small or discreet equipment, yet these valve amps tend to have agricultural aesthetics. Your speakers tend to hark back to a more retro era... is it purely a curiosity phase or is there genuine need for a change?

I don't want a valve tuner. I want a valve radio.

Not replacing anything I am using now. Looking at 'populating' another room with something a bit different. I could just use my old M-CR603 with my JPW Sonatas but that's too easy.
 

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