A question about a Tube Amp

[j_garcia]

I tend to like to hear my speakers not my amp. Yes, I've heard some really, really nice tube setups, but I still feel the speaker is the most important aspect. I get it, but I feel like tubes are more of a fun factor than really getting some sonic benefit out of it. I came close to buying a Jolida back in the day myself for the bedroom.

 

[Eppie]

I tend to like to hear my speakers not my amp. Yes, I've heard some really, really nice tube setups, but I still feel the speaker is the most important aspect. I get it, but I feel like tubes are more of a fun factor than really getting some sonic benefit out of it. I came close to buying a Jolida back in the day myself for the bedroom.

Properly designed tube amps can exhibit some nice characteristics and they sure look cool but warm tubes can attract cats. Tubes also require very high voltages to produce a decent amount of power. That's probably why this tube amp only has 35W/ch, and I remember our old Scott kit built tube amp was also in that power range, but it was driving some very efficient speakers that employed horns for both the mid-range and tweeters. I would want speakers with an efficiency of 89dB or higher with that amp. I have a 100W Ampeg bass amp that is several decades old. Great sounding amp and the natural distortion that tubes can produce sounds quite different from solid state distortion effects, but the transformer supplies 400V to the tubes making these amps potentially dangerous to service.

 

[KNOTSCOTT]

You're not imagining things, and it's not chocolate. It's high resolution and natural sound. I'll take a decent tube amp any day. In the high end world tube amps and preamps still rule. The vast majority of the best systems I've ever heard (some at CES) were driven by tubes. They can be expensive (but don't have to be), definitely run hotter and use more electricity, and there's a bit of a learning curve to owning them, but it's not difficult and is a well rewarded effort. With the popularization of Chi-fi tube stuff, amps like Wilssenton, Reisong, Yaqin, Nobsound, and others are surprisingly affordable.

 

[Mikado463]

While the Op has made his purchase and seems to be enjoying it, that's all that matters. Many well designed and executed tube amps today do not require crazy amounts of maintenance. I'm running tubes in my phono-pre(Fosgate Signature) and my line stage (ARC LS-28) but to say that tubes still 'rule' in the world of high end amps I will disagree. There are plenty of great tube amps out there (I owned a pair of Rogue M-180's awhile back) but IMO even more so in the SS camp