Find affordable tube amps under 500 Euros and enjoy the authentic sound of real tube amps.
Originally published at Gearnews.de by Andreas Cordes, translation by Julian Schmauch
Not feeling digital modeling amps? Looking for the sound and power of real tube amps without any complicated menu dives, just a simple analog operation? We’ve got a few suggestions of affordable tube amps for under 500 euros. Are you a beginner looking for your first tube amp or are you more advanced and looking for a second amp? These amps might be of interest to you.
Affordable Tube Amps: Our Guide
Why go all-tube?
An all-tube amp means a tube in the preamp and tube in the power amp. It is a completely analogue circuit with no digital influence on the sound. Tubes naturally deliver the highest dynamics and the most sonic power. Even a 5-watt all-tube can be very loud and is, therefore, unsuitable for home use.
As all-tube amps are more expensive to manufacture than digital amps, most amplifiers quickly exceed your budget. However, there are a few very interesting candidates for affordable tube amps. Here, you will find the cheapest tube amps: You can choose from amps by Marshall, Harley Benton and Bugera.
A Real Marshall Amp on a Budget
The Marshall DSL20HR delivers the authentic DSL sound. With three ECC83s in the preamp stage and two EL34s, the amp brings a mighty 20-watts of tube power to the table. It is fully equipped with two voicings, reverb, serial FX loop, flexible tone control and footswitch. The Marshall DSL20HR costs 439 euros and is available here at Thomann*. Its little brother Marshall DSL1HR with only 1 watt tube power costs 249 euros and is also available at Thomann*.
Other popular Marshall amps are the Marshall Origin 20H and Marshall Origin 50H. They are extremely popular because of their classic design and sound drawing from the roots of the legendary Marshall sound. Both are single-voicing designs and simple to use. No bells and whistles. Available as a 20-watt or 50-watt version. The Marshall Origin 20H costs 419 euros and is available here at Thomann*. The Marshall Origin 50H costs 498 euros and is available here at Thomann.de*.
Harley Benton Tube Amps
There are also a couple of affordable tube amps from Harley Benton! The Harley Benton TUBE5, Harley Benton TUBE15, and Harley Benton TUBE30 models come with ECC83/12AX7 tubes in their preamp stage. They are optionally equipped with EL84 or, in the case of the TUBE5, 6V6GT power amp tubes.
A classic design and their simple operation make this series worth a look. The Harley Benton Tube5 with 5 watts of power is already available for 129 euros here at Thomann*. The Harley Benton TUBE15 top unit with 15 watts is also available here at Thomann* and costs 219 euros. The large Harley Benton TUBE30 costs 449 euros and is available here at Thomann*.
Then there are the so-called lunchbox amps: the Harley Benton Mighty-5TH and the Harley Benton Mighty-15TH. Here again, we have a small 5-watt or a slightly larger 15-watt version. These two toasters also create real tube sound and are affordable tube amps. The Harley Benton Mighty-5TH is available for 149 euros here at Thomann* and the Harley Benton Mighty-15TH for 259 euros here at Thomann*.
Bugera Infinium All-Tube Amp
The Bugera brand has also been successfully offering tube amps with an excellent price-performance ratio for several years now. Their Infinium series offers affordable all-tube amps from 5 watts to an astonishing 55 watts of power.
The Infinium series features different tube configurations and flexible operation. You can choose between modern models like the Bugera G5 Infinium and classic models like the Bugera V22HD Infinium. You can also opt for the affordable Bugera T5 Infinium lunchbox amp. All amplifiers are listed below.
Conclusion
Most affordable tube amps are reputable amps with an exceptional price-performance ratio. We hope this selection will help you find your next amplifier. For purists, the all-tube amp is and remains the first choice.
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