Fellow guitarist Dopers-
Do any of you own or have tried this amp? I am looking for feedback on it. A good friend that’s in a popular local band in my area said he was blown away by how much tone you get for the price on this amp. Apparently many musicians like to record with this amp as well. And at around $500 with all tube architecture, it seems like a really good deal for a stout practice/recording amp.
Here are a couple links to people demoing the amp. One of them is in German.
Heard of 'em, haven’t tried them. If they are truly tube and that well-priced and you can confirm that they are indeed reliable, that seems like a good deal. The two links you provide clearly sound Marshally - a bit of Van Halen with a tad of modern (e.g., Mesa Boogie Rectifier metal tone) in the mix. So another question would be - is that the main tone you want? If so - very cool; if you want to play more Stonesy, Fender-type warm overdrive tones or decent cleans, you may need something a bit more versatile.
For all tube amps in that price range, you could get a **Fender Blues Jr **- good cleans, good Fender tones and takes a dirtbox pedal really well for Marshally tones. Peavey makes (or made - not sure if still in production - but very available on Craigslist) the Classic 30 and Delta King (something like that) - very versatile. And Egnater has the Tweaker - I think there are tubes involved but it has been getting solid reviews for tones and versatility.
This is a good time to be amp shopping - a lot of solid possibilities - but a lot of choices 
Thanks Wordman. I checked my local Guitar Center in Florence KY and they have this amp with two single 10" speaker cabinets for $599.
I see what you did there.
GC also carries Blues Jrs, Tweakers and Peavey amps (although I can’t recall if the models I named are still available new). So you (or a knowledgeable guitar buddy) can try out a few options for low-price, rugged tube amps.
Speakers - with two 10"s, you can separate the cabinets and get a full sound - but 10’s are a bit small; you will get a bit less bass response. Now, if they sound like you heard on the demo and you like that and want to play that kind of music - totally cool. But something like a Blues Jr comes with a single 12" - an all-in-one “combo” amp - you can’t separate the cabs but a bit more bass response and carrying convenience. I am NOT advocating the BJ over the Blackstar; merely pointing out the differences…
I like the Orange Tiny Terror amp, too.
Jesus Christ…I just spent an hour watching demos of these Blackstar amps of all varieties (their 100W 4x12 HT-100 sounds amazing) and they sound incredible. I like this whole ISF control scheme they have incorporated into one pot that has this “British/American” sound setting, changing the gain structure.
I am impressed with the HT-5 though as a practice amp. I need to save up $600 to get the two cabinets and the head. I really like that Marshall/Boogie/Orange sound they have, as well as the fact that their clean channel sounds really good.