AudioNervosa
Systemic Development => Amplification and Preamplification => Tubes => Topic started by: Bigfish8 on December 24, 2009, 05:53:22 AM
-
Guys:
I began my journey into this hobby with an all Solid State System and now have tubes in the Source and in the Preamp. I am interested to see the response to this poll to get a perspective on what percent of responders utilize tubes in their systems.
Thanks,
Ken
-
Ken
I just submitted my poll response, but curious on which tube source you have.
Henry
-
1 system has tube preamp and direct drive tube amps. The other system has tube pre, tube buffered DAC, and SS amps.
Bryan
-
Nothing but tubes. Tubed CDP, Preamp/Phono, SET Mono Blocks . Started with a AR 6B Preamp and Bryston 4B amp then Classe DR25. Then a AR 250 Mk2 Servo [ 32 tubes], Classic 60
Last and staying put are the SET mono blocks. For me after SS then push pull triode I have found my preference in SET amps. Next up if the lottery comes along OTL Joule Electra Rite of Passage.
charles
-
Tubes are like golden magical trinkets to me... So much so I have a big drawer full. ;)
Mike
-
Ken
I just submitted my poll response, but curious on which tube source you have.
Henry
Hi Henry:
I have a ModWright Modded Transporter running an Emission Labs 5U4G Rectifier and 6SN7 Signal Tubes. Mapletree 2A-SE Preamp with Sylvania Brown Base 6X5gt and Tung Sol 6SN7 Round Plates.
Ken
-
Ken
I just submitted my poll response, but curious on which tube source you have.
Henry
Hi Henry:
I have a ModWright Modded Transporter running an Emission Labs 5U4G Rectifier and 6SN7 Signal Tubes. Mapletree 2A-SE Preamp with Sylvania Brown Base 6X5gt and Tung Sol 6SN7 Round Plates.
Ken
Oooooooooh just got that warm and cozy feeling reading that.
charles
-
Tube outputs (6H30-DR) on my squeezebox, all tube preamp using National Union 6F8G round plate and direct coupled 6AH4 cathode followers, the 6F8G is an earlier version of a 6SN7. Amps are currently either Consonance Cyber 845 SET or McIntosh MC275 using Lundahl transformer for phase splitting. Also have a 100WPC OTL that doubles as a great space heater. ;) Oh yeah, phono stage is tubes as well. There is also an Aronov tube amp sitting in my shop waiting for me to do something with it.
-
Tube outputs (6H30-DR) on my squeezebox, all tube preamp using National Union 6F8G round plate and direct coupled 6AH4 cathode followers, the 6F8G is an earlier version of a 6SN7. Amps are currently either Consonance Cyber 845 SET or McIntosh MC275 using Lundahl transformer for phase splitting. Also have a 100WPC OTL that doubles as a great space heater. ;) Oh yeah, phono stage is tubes as well. There is also an Aronov tube amp sitting in my shop waiting for me to do something with it.
That Aronov is one hell of an amp IMO. Still remember the sound with Maggie 3As and matching preamp. Glorious. I was ready to pull the trigger at Hi Fi exchange when two gals bought it from under my nose. Your covered quite well my friend.
charles
-
I saw a guy at the deli counter today with a 2" tall tattoo of a lightbulb behind his ear. :-k Got me thinking about my devotion and commitment to tubes. I wondered, "If I get a triode symbol tattooed on my forehead would I someday regret not getting a MOSFET tattoo instead?" It ebbs and flows for me, love and hate. But after 5 years I'm still with tubes because they do well most of the things that are important to me.
-
I saw a guy at the deli counter today with a 2" tall tattoo of a lightbulb behind his ear. :-k Got me thinking about my devotion and commitment to tubes. I wondered, "If I get a triode symbol tattooed on my forehead would I someday regret not getting a MOSFET tattoo instead?" It ebbs and flows for me, love and hate. But after 5 years I'm still with tubes because they do well most of the things that are important to me.
Rich,
You could have one system of each, or a hybrid! :)
Paul
-
:duh Now you tell me!!
Thanks Paul! :D
-
That Aronov is one hell of an amp IMO. Still remember the sound with Maggie 3As and matching preamp. Glorious. I was ready to pull the trigger at Hi Fi exchange when two gals bought it from under my nose. Your covered quite well my friend.
How's this for embarrassing, I've never even put it in the system. It was given to me a few months ago for helping a friend and while I tested it on the bench to determine it's health I have not moved it into the music room. Perhaps I'll have to give it a listen. There are some very hefty transformers in there. :)
-
Thanks Ken.
I have two Mullards M8080 in my CJ Preamp, 4 6922 input and 8 KT88 output in the Music Reference Amp. Love the glow and the sound. Considering a tube front end to replace my Wadia. Anyone have the Prima Luna Prologue Eight tube CD player? If so please Pm me with your thoughts.
Henry
-
Thanks Ken.
I have two Mullards M8080 in my CJ Preamp, 4 6922 input and 8 KT88 output in the Music Reference Amp. Love the glow and the sound. Considering a tube front end to replace my Wadia. Anyone have the Prima Luna Prologue Eight tube CD player? If so please Pm me with your thoughts.
Henry
Henry:
Have you heard or considered one of these: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1266278690&/Raysonic-CD-168-cd-player-free (http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1266278690&/Raysonic-CD-168-cd-player-free) Steve (Stereofool) has one and several us of heard it at one of Richidoo's G2G's. This is one fine CDP.
Merry Christmas!
Ken
-
Guys:
I consider everyone that frequents here at AN to be serious about audio. Do you think the results, so far, would represent typical percentages for people that love this hobby? If so the results indicate 95% of us have tubes in our systems!
Ken
-
Of those that truly LOVE the hobby and the exploration of sound quality and audio technology that the obsession inspires, I would say YES, most have at least tried tubes. But I think the majority of people who own high end audio equipment are not quite that obsessed so there are still plenty that have not tried tubes.... yet! The new batch of inexpensive Chinese made tube products like EE, PrimaLuna, Cayin are making the din of tube lore louder and more consistent and harder to ignore. Resistance is futile!
With a SS amp, you pretty much connect it to anything and it will workfine up to clipping. With tubes, there are more considerations, more compatibility issues. If a tubeynoobie buys a tube product that is not compatible with the rest of his system the temptation is to blame the tubes for the inferior result, not the incompatibility because he doesn't know about that. Hybrids are attempting to cure this to make tubes foolproof but the sand is still there - albeit without gain so less noticeable.
The other thing is once you are accustomed to SS, there are some aspects that you can't live without. Quiet noise floor, bass grip, no maintenance, low priced for given power. To get a tube amp with same bass control as Sol's 60W SS amp requires hundreds of tube watts and a huge exotic transformer, and still wouldn't have the low impedance of transistor. And for the money, you could have a nice little classic Porsche instead. So tubes are a bit of an uphill battle for people already used to SS.
Another thing is the kind of music people listen to. Rock and symphonies really need the punch and feeling of clean power you get from SS, while tube's gorgeous tone quality lends itself to solo singers, chamber music, etc. which can get by with less bass slam and low distortion accuracy. Rock is the popular music of our era, so SS is the popular amp choice. Tubes can slam into speakers designed for tubes, but the design expertise and parts needed to maintain linearity are specialized (expensive.) Upgrading to a more refined SS amp on a normal speaker might cost the same as tubes with a specialized tube speaker.
But once bitten, the tube big is hard to cure.
-
well said Rich.
-
I'll definitely agree that the chinese amps have opened the door for a lot of new people to experiment with tubes at a much lower entry price. I know for me it was the only way I was able to give a tube amp a try.
I think the SS bass advantage is actually less significant than it used to be since the use of powered subs to handle bass has gained in popularity. I also think that tubes really help rock music as much as they do other formats. I think a lot has to due with the listeners priorities - for me it is tone over impact/dynamics, regardless of the genre.
Jim C