Amp for a beginner

[G]

Originally posted by DigitalJunkie
When I was listening to my first tube amp,I was constantly looking around the room.."What was that?!" the sound was everywhere!
That little 10wpc PP 6V6 amp has plenty of "balls" to get my inefficient speakers pumpin..Not to mention that little amp smokes any SS gear *I've* ever heard.
There's certainly something about toobz...

The amp is from an old Sears Silvertone colsole stereo set..I got the power amp,and preamp,and decided to give it a listen "in the raw" (before I replaced anything,or made any mods)
My first impression was *ACK!* Horrible!...then I disconnected the preamp,and used the pre-out of my Sansui AU7900.. MUCH better,it seems it *would* be worth the time to rebuild..so I did,from the chassis up! new paint,parts,and tubes..
Then it came time to flip the switch and press play...
Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits came on,and my jaw dropped,I'd never heard anything *SOO* good! Stevie nicks was Singing *in my room*..not just from the speakers..she was *there*!!
It was worth every minute/penny it took to rebuild!!
The rest is history.

So,my advice is,If you aren't sure if you'll like tubes,and don't wanna spend lots on a nice old ST-70,or Marantz 8B,W5M's etc.. Get an old console stereo or something,rip the amp out,and rebuild/tweak it to your hearts content. Don't let those old ugly consoles fool ya,There might be a worthwhile amp in there!
But be warned..You may never look back! (I Havn't)

You make some very valid points. ST 70s are not cheap to rebuild. I hadn't remembered that most "maggies" require a lot of HP to make them shine. Maybe a full range driver and a small low powered amp is the way to go.