You definitely get what you paid for in this circumstance. I also used CATV amps for years before I took the plunge on Stridsberg. Once I did, I had MUCH better signal and was hearing systems 75 miles away no problem. You can go cheap and get adequate, then you can go Stridsberg and get real performance. The choice is always up to the individual hobbyist. Take it from me and do a performance comparison. Definitely worth the extra jack for the Stridsberg.
I went with a catv amp after seeing a post somewhere a few years ago where a comparison had been done by the guy with zero difference between the two. To each their own.