Well, if I could compare them in person, I would, but that's unfortunately not possible where I live. There's barely any stock here I found - one Nux and one older gen Yamaha. And I have to drive significantly to test it out. So blind shopping it is. I will however post my impressions once I get it.
fluxx
Was gonna say it's much more expensive than the rest, but on Thomann, B-stock is exactly the same price as Nux (B-stock also). And I've heard it's good sounding and that one YT review on Anderton's, says it sounds the most natural out of most of what I've listed. So now I'm undecided again. And for the headphone out - I don't really care, I have a headphone amp. I have a sound interface and VST setup I can use for that.
It's the cheapest from the list, and doesn't appear to lack in versatility/features. The only thing I notice is it's not a 24bit interface, but I don't know if it bothers me. I already have a separate audio interface for when/if I record. And to be honest, while I plan on recording, I've recorded like one or two demos in the past 10 years.
Do you think there's anything to be gained from going one size up? It's stereo, perhaps near-field, it might sound better with some stereo effects? Currently, I'm thinking either Spark or Nux Mighty space. Spark is a lot cheaper, though.
I actually have a 2x12 cabinet sitting in a shed collecting dust, I haven't used it in years. It's just inconvenient for casual everyday practice. I'm a hobby player, with a small kid and a not too tolerant wife. What little practice/playing I get I need to be suuuper convenient, so I gather - desktop amp is a good choice. It's a dad amp, basically.
I actually have used (and still do) a Vox amPlug headphone amp and it sounds amazing! But I can't stand using it with headphones. I feel like I'm chained to my guitar. So I connect it to my HiFi system instead. And it works and sounds wonderful, I don't need/want anything else. This is actually why I may want a desktop amp, it skips one step, which is having to connect to my HiFi system and provides additional versatility. But the headphone amp has its place too, I agree.
This might work. But I need it to have enough versatility on its own. It needs to have high gain (I'm a metal fan), plus some reverb/delay. I'd prefer not to need pedals for a practice amp. At least I think I need this, not sure unless you try. Also, second hand, I currently can't find anything nice locally (I'm in Serbia).
Regarding price, you're right, but I don't have room for a 10' combo and if I have to add a few pedals/fx, I think it would end up rarely being used. Though I agree these desktop amps are way overpriced. Like, I will likely skip Yamaha, just because I don't feel like giving $450 for a practice amp.
I actually have a decent audio interface and I do have half-decent speakers, but they don't fit on my desk, so they sit on a shelf and rarely get used. Anyway, this may be a silly use case and I'm not that bound to it. I just figured - the amp has full range speakers and it does sit on the desk and the amp has an audio interface. But this is more like - nice to have.
This is indeed a big plus I didn't know it had! This means, even if the company died or stopped supporting the product, you still have options. Thanks.
Because you can't end to end encrypt if you don't have control over both ends. You'd need to trust the other end. Signal doesn't and their user base especially doesn't.
Honestly, I feel I would probably be happy with any of those, probably even something entirely different too. And given I have not tried anything similar, Nux is just an educated guess.