tube amps ?

[vinny]

im looking to start another system, tube pre amp and tube amp. what are the basics ? is vintage better ? what should i look for or stay away from? is it even worth my trouble? i got a pair of dcm kx 12 speakers laying around from the early to mid 90's made in america. they are super efficent and shook the shingles when i powered the hell out of them.

[MonkeyBoy]

I don't know what your budget is, but you might look into the Audio Note kits. I've never heard any of them but the Audio Note amps I have heard are amazing.

[Hanuman]

I don't think vintage is better unless you're prepared to have a fair portion of the amp(s) completely renovated. There's nothing worse than a cranky old tube amp.

[aardvarkash10]

Tube amps are generally not happy with most modern speaker systems - they cannot (in general) deliver the current drive needed to feed speakers with huge dips in their impedance curves.

There are a few new commercial designs that appear to be well supported - Manley is one. I'd be inclined to go for a new or near new amp, most are modern interpretations of classic designs anyway. Old transformers etc are trouble looking for a place to happen.

Or you can wander over to www.diyaudio.com and scan through the tube forum if you feel the need to build your own...

[pivot]

Used to sell DCM but before the speakers you have were in the line.

Can't say I was a fan of DCM house sound. They sold well but the balance seemed to be "Disco smile", goosed up bass and highs. Always stuck me a a speaker that needed an amp with high damping factor to control the somewhat loose bass.

They would not be my pick with a tube amp because tube map have lower damping factors.

[jake]

If you get a Dynaco St 70 with PAS-3 preamp, you will have plenty of drive for any modern speakers. These are very common on Ebay, bid on the ones that have already been re-furbished.

[SammyMac]

I have a Techncis SU-V8X, pretty happy with it, makes me wonder what the Technics SU-V8 and SU-V9 are like, as they both have 2 lots of phono inputs.

[Dinohyus Hollandi]

Bold statement time! Get a PrimaLuna and be done with the hassle.

[vintagesounds]

im looking to start another system, tube pre amp and tube amp. what are the basics ? is vintage better ? what should i look for or stay away from? is it even worth my trouble? i got a pair of dcm kx 12 speakers laying around from the early to mid 90's made in america. they are super efficent and shook the shingles when i powered the hell out of them.

Hi,
Im new here I was in the same boat as you about a month ago. I wanted to start listening to music in the house so I decided on a vinyl collection. I grew up when cds were being released so when it was time to buy music it was always for car stereos etc. I set a budget of $2000 for a TT, pre, and amp. Pro-ject 1.3 TT, into the their Tubebox 11, Jolida JD 303. We are very happy with it and will soon upgrade our speakers. As of now Im using our home theater front L R which are polk audio RTi 12 towers. Not a very efficient speaker and needs alot of power but for now Im definitely enjoying the vinyl. Jolida amps check them out. We listened to them here in md but bought from a distributor in fl. $1100 shipped for the amp.

[vinny]

thanks for all the info, it all makes sense. pivot is right, those speakers are discoey sounding. i already have a big syatem hooked up. maybe i should go with some vintage bookshelfs. so, refurbished vintage tube with vintage speakers. what brand ? how much ? thanks for all the help guys.

[pivot]

Vintage tubes: McIntosh if you can afford it - Dyanco if you can't. Marantz tubes if a rich uncle died and left you well fixed.

[vinny]

i just drank to much and spent my last piece of credit on a Marantz 7C tube preamplifier with a matched wooden cabinet. $4900-. dont even quite know what i got. have a feelin its good. now im broke with a woman ready to leave, but.....................i got it !

[pivot]

Walter Jung did an interesting article on the 7C way back in the 1980s for "Audio Amature".

My old copies of "Audio Amature" are long gone but here is a pdf copy on the web:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/sto ... z%207C.pdf

[jackstraw]

A couple of years ago I put together a tube sysem: w/ lo out cart> a step up transformer> Canary Pre> Cary 8W 300B mono blocks. As stated earlier most modern speakers dont sound the best w/ a tube system. Their are a hand full of current manufacturers that make speakers w/ a tube amplified signal in mind. I bought Klipsch corner horns. I love the sound with this system. I would NOT use them on a solid state system or with many Hi powered tube amps, 60W etc... Although rated for 100W, @ 105 db efficiency maybe even a little higher, noise can be a problem. Tube hiss, lp surface noise, etc. can add up quick. Unless your LPs are really clean and you get a stylus that can get down below the general playing area of medium to poor records, scratches can be outright brutal. Speakers around 95-98db efficient would be much more forgiving. Less detail but the trade off is worth considering.
After rolling many brands and eras of Tubes, NOS millitary, new stock, Russian, German, USA, UK, etc. I found a combination that is super quiet and really gave me that large 3D soundstage not to harsh, not to lush. Mostly USA millitary NOS tubes w/ german NOS 12AX/U7s in the phono section. With quality vinyl I am Absolutely happy. Many old stock tubes blow away any modern tube on the market in my opinion.
I have found that connecting Solid State componants such as CD players might be a bit dodgy. Unexpected buzzez, etc. quality interconnect cables really made a big difference. I really like the Cary monos. If I had it to do over I would probably get a Cary Pre with or and a cary phono pre or Jolida phono pre as well.
Anyway I hope some of that might be useful to you.