$149 Monoprice Tube Hybrid Amp

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Done A Ton, Oct 16, 2015.

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  1. Done A Ton

    Done A Ton Birdbrain Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rural Kansas
    utahusker and action pact like this.
  2. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    "Sound Quality: Life is too short for speakers that don't sound great! We believe that the whole point of listening to music is to hear it as the artist intended. Our engineers and audio experts have spent countless hours listening to and comparing various speakers until we were satisfied we had found models that fit our demanding standards."

    [​IMG]

    Huh? o_O
     
  3. utahusker

    utahusker Senior Member

    Looks like a huge headphone :)
     
    Sneaky Pete and Done A Ton like this.
  4. Matt123

    Matt123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I'd stay away from anything "Hybrid". They do this all the with guitar amps. It's never a favorable result.
     
  5. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    Looks cool/cute for $150 though! And Bluetooth! Heck, even I'm tempted. Hmmm, maybe for my kid. The garage?

    I emailed them that their page quotes speaker specs...
     
  6. Colin M

    Colin M Forum Resident

    Seems to match the spec of my Altec satellite speakers for the PC. Even they only describe the 3" as a midrange.
     
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  7. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Not the same thing. This appears to be a tubed preamp with SS power amp, which is perfectly acceptable for hifi.
     
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  8. xmas111

    xmas111 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Plymouth MA
    I think it's pretty cool looking......might, just might pick one up for the hell of it.....
     
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  9. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    I'm not sure if this is what you're asking, but the $199 version that has bundled speakers does quote the specs for them - nothing like 81db speakers to go with your 25 watt tube amp! :shrug:

    In general though I do like the concept of this and the other miscellaneous dirt cheap Chi-Fi tube amps on ebay. Remember, $200 is considered a good deal for a single plastic bluetooth speaker the size of a coffee cup. So $200 for an apt-x bluetooth enabled hybrid tube amp with a headphone jack and tone controls is pretty decadent, as long as you understand what you should and shouldn't compare it to.
     
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  10. inperson

    inperson Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    Get rid of the bass/treble knobs, change the face plate to black then get rid of those tube protectors and then it will be a less cheap looking amp.
     
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  11. DanBNash

    DanBNash Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Has anyone purchased this yet?
     
  12. Matt123

    Matt123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I absolutely agree! In theory shouldn't the damn album be eq'd during mastering??? I run my turntable with a phono pre to a tube amp with only a volume knob.
     
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  13. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
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  14. pbiancardi

    pbiancardi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dyer, IN
  15. Matt123

    Matt123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I have to vouch for the kit below. I built this kit for my main listening set-up. It's awesome, you do have to assemble it and it doesn't look as "nice" (although you could make a cover for it) as the one you posted, but it's transparent tube amplification.

    https://www.tubedepot.com/products/stereo-tube-amplifier-kit
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 15, 2016
  16. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I don't have the Tube Depot version of this amp but I do have the APPJ Miniwatt, which looks identical to this. It's a very nice little amp for the money. With 94db+ speakers it can fill a medium to large room with some nice sound. For an office you could get away with 87db but I wouldn't go much lower. I rolled in Sovtek El84s and a Telefunken 12ax7 and I couldn't be happier with the sound.
     
  17. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    That is a cool little amp - it is a full blown SET amp - which I could for fun try with my Cornwalls. Definitely on my list.
     
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  18. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Hold it...I'm confused.....is the amp in the OP very first post a full blown SET amp?
     
  19. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    No even a single customer review yet at the monoprice website, must be very new.
     
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  20. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Too bad it isnt the Tube Depot SET amp that is $150...I'd buy one right now.
     
  21. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    No. The one I posted is
     
  22. beatlematt

    beatlematt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gadsden, Alabama
  23. K. Jones

    K. Jones Forum Resident

    Location:
    Omaha, NE
  24. Thermionic Dude

    Thermionic Dude Forum Resident

    This is exactly what I've done! Saw this topic yesterday and thought "how bad can it really be?" Seems as if some real thought went into designing it, and if it ends up sounding reasonably decent it will be a true bargain. It certainly LOOKS a lot more interesting than the plastic crap Best Buy sells at the same price point.

    I'll revisit and post some impressions as well as dissection pics when I get it. I'm particularly interested in how the headphone section is implemented, and will sort this out too.
     
    timind, longdist01 and xmas111 like this.
  25. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    Looks like a nice build compared to what else is out there at that price range.

    Tempted if just for headphones.
     
    DanBNash and betweentheears like this.
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