TL;DR - what's the cheapest tube amp you could reasonably recommend and is it ok to connect it to a channel switcher?
I just moved into a new house and the owner left behind a multiroom setup consisting of a Niles SVL-6 and 5 pairs of Paradigm Titan v1's. Given the age of these speakers, and the way they're sort strewn about each room, I have no illusions about getting high quality sound from them.
To that end, because the Niles is in a common area, I thought a tube amp might be a good conversation piece as well as fit the decor. First off, is this a practical move?
I've never used one of these channel switchers before; I don't understand impedance protection but the Niles manual claims I can power all 6 pairs at once with a single amp without dipping below 4 ohms when paired with 8 ohm speakers. It also has tube amp instructions, which basically say "always have at least 1 pair of speakers enabled" so I'm pretty sure I'd be OK.
Assuming Niles + tube not a terrible idea, my priorities are price (new house = new budget) and reliability. Bluetooth is preferred but obviously there's a few <$100 solutions for that so not a deal breaker. Also preferred, depending on the temperature of the recommendation, would be a cage similar to MC275 (small kids around often).
I'd also like to go the "full tube" route, mostly because I've never done it before and I'm curious about the differences but I'm not sure I could even discern with these speakers/placement. I already know my sound quality will never be impressive so as long as the amp can provide enough clarity to not be distracting I'm fine with it.
Specifically, I'm referring to the miserable failure of Monoprice on @amirm 's bench - they have almost exactly the package I want but I don't want to waste time on something so fickle even if it's cheap. Unfortunate because, on the surface, it's quite a value.
I just moved into a new house and the owner left behind a multiroom setup consisting of a Niles SVL-6 and 5 pairs of Paradigm Titan v1's. Given the age of these speakers, and the way they're sort strewn about each room, I have no illusions about getting high quality sound from them.
To that end, because the Niles is in a common area, I thought a tube amp might be a good conversation piece as well as fit the decor. First off, is this a practical move?
I've never used one of these channel switchers before; I don't understand impedance protection but the Niles manual claims I can power all 6 pairs at once with a single amp without dipping below 4 ohms when paired with 8 ohm speakers. It also has tube amp instructions, which basically say "always have at least 1 pair of speakers enabled" so I'm pretty sure I'd be OK.
Assuming Niles + tube not a terrible idea, my priorities are price (new house = new budget) and reliability. Bluetooth is preferred but obviously there's a few <$100 solutions for that so not a deal breaker. Also preferred, depending on the temperature of the recommendation, would be a cage similar to MC275 (small kids around often).
I'd also like to go the "full tube" route, mostly because I've never done it before and I'm curious about the differences but I'm not sure I could even discern with these speakers/placement. I already know my sound quality will never be impressive so as long as the amp can provide enough clarity to not be distracting I'm fine with it.
Specifically, I'm referring to the miserable failure of Monoprice on @amirm 's bench - they have almost exactly the package I want but I don't want to waste time on something so fickle even if it's cheap. Unfortunate because, on the surface, it's quite a value.
