Int. Tube amp or. tube preamp + amp

[Snoopy]

I don't think you should be bothering with tube based devices in 2024.


JSmith

While I agree, I’m also interested in a Headphone Tube amp (Cayin HA 2A to be exact).

I already got 2 very well measured headphone amps (Singxer Sa1 , SMSL SP400) but I like oldschool tech

It’s all part of the hobby

 

[Bob from Florida]

Thanks...its over my budget, now have rotel rb991, thinking to go in direction for good preamp...now i had Vincent sa32, jus looking for vincent sa t7...

Understood. Budget is budget. I could not find an impedance plot for your speakers so I guessed it dips because of the 6 ohm nominal. I think SIY coined the perfect phrase elsewhere - "There are good tube amps and cheap tube amps, but no cheap good tube amps".

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Here is a review of the amp you are considering. Basically 40 watts ultralinear and 20 watts triode which is a bit low for a pair of KT88s per channel. Square waves shown make me think the transformers aren't too bad. So maybe not a bad choice. The review makes me think this is a viable alternative to buying some older tube amps.

That review is pretty good. She is very technical in her analysis, and often modifies tube amps based on her measurements.

I occasionally get the urge, but I quickly snap out of it. But during the urge, muzishare or vintage McIntosh (resale value) or decware (if I wanted to wait years) would be my options for the vintage horns I own.

What snaps me out of it is what happened when playing a vintage (but cheap) amp a year or so ago. I very much enjoyed it, but I played it less and less over time, so I don't think the money would be well spent in my case. Was $80 worth it for the month? Sure. I had fun and it saved me a lot of money going forward.

 

[bargainguy]

I started my audio career with solid state back in the 80's. Nakamichi 610 pre, Marantz 250 power.

In the 90's, fell into a tube integrated Fisher X-100 at an estate sale for $25. I was smitten with the sound. That led to different tube amps, I think I had four altogether.

A decade ago, switched back to solid state again (LFD Mistral), and sold all my tube amps. Didn't need them anymore. I was (and still am) perfectly happy with the LFD.

If there's a point in all this, my tastes changed over the years, as did my budget....and tubes ain't cheap.

It's almost impossible to predict whether you will like the sound of any given pre/power amp with any given pair of speakers until you've tried them. Tube or SS.

So my advice is to go listen to a boatload of systems until you find what you like. You may discover - as I did - that it's a moving target.

 

[SIY]

That review is pretty good. She is very technical in her analysis, and often modifies tube amps based on her measurements.

Steff is absolutely solid and reliable. I've known her since she was Steve and one of the brightest engineers I've ever dealt with.

 

[Willem]

I started my audio career with solid state back in the 80's. Nakamichi 610 pre, Marantz 250 power.

In the 90's, fell into a tube integrated Fisher X-100 at an estate sale for $25. I was smitten with the sound. That led to different tube amps, I think I had four altogether.

A decade ago, switched back to solid state again (LFD Mistral), and sold all my tube amps. Didn't need them anymore. I was (and still am) perfectly happy with the LFD.

If there's a point in all this, my tastes changed over the years, as did my budget....and tubes ain't cheap.

It's almost impossible to predict whether you will like the sound of any given pre/power amp with any given pair of speakers until you've tried them. Tube or SS.

So my advice is to go listen to a boatload of systems until you find what you like. You may discover - as I did - that it's a moving target.

To me, this seems like a wasteful strategy. Measurements and controlled blind listening tests have long shown that properly designed amplifiers have no sonic signature. So anxiously jumping from one to the other only makes you take depreciation hits. So here is my personal story: I bought my first serious amplifier (a Quad 33/303) as a student in 1971, and kept it (after refurbishment) until I replaced it in 2015 by a fully refurbished Quad 606-2 and later an RME ADI-2 DAC preamp because I needed more power in a larger room, and digital inputs for modern sources. This was all excellent gear, and total cost of ownership has been remarkably low because I kept the gear for so long. There is no magic in electronics. It is about features and power, provided it is competently designed.

 

[GXAlan]

The Schiit Freya is a great choice because it has a solid state and pure passive bypass as well. You get the option of choosing to enable or disable the tube effect.

 

[JP]

Steff is absolutely solid and reliable. I've known her since she was Steve and one of the brightest engineers I've ever dealt with.

Stephe Koontz != Stephie Bench.

 

[SIY]

Stephe Koontz != Stephie Bench.

My bad.

 

[JP]

My bad.

I did the same years ago - had never met Bench so wasn’t sure if that was her. I’ve not seen or heard anything from/about her for a very long time, unfortunately.

 

[SIY]

I last saw SB in person in her former life. Only a few videos since then.