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HELP ... Need Advice/Recommendations on Tube Amp

Hi, all. So, the upgrade bug is calling, and most you likely know how annoying that can be. For years I have been using a tube preamp (BAT VK-3i) and a SS power amp (Musical Fidelity A300cr @ 225 wpc). Since I  bought new speakers a little less than a year ago (JA Pulsars), I was wondering whether a tube power amp  might produce even better sound than I'm getting currently. 

I've been looking at the Carver Crimson 275 (75 wpc) and the Rogue Stereo 100 (100 wpc). The Carver looks really interesting ... the Rogue does as well, but it requires manual biasing. I know the jury is still out on manual versus auto biasing, so I'm not sure which way to go on that issue. Anyway, I have never owned a tube power amp before and can't audition most products due to my current location. Any thoughts on the above or recommendations for other tube amps would be much appreciated. Thanks.
rlb61
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,725 posts
 
Manual biasing should not be a big deal when you are looking to purchase a tube amp. I have Quicksilver amps and in the ten years that I’ve owned them I only had to bias them is when I replaced the tubes. You might take a look at Quicksilver they are point to point wired and built like tanks!
http://quicksilveraudio.com/amplifiers/
smrex13
645 posts
 
Keep in mind that the Pulsar has an efficiency of only 83.5db. The load is not particularly demanding, so a tube amp would work ok. However, you may have limitations in ultimate volume level, especially when compared to your 200+ wpc solid state amp.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,868 posts
 
Take a look at the modulus of impedance the speaker exhibits (fancy term ;-) . If it strays far from it's nominal impedance (4 ohms, 8 ohms), you will want a tube amp with a low output impedance to keep the frequency response of the speaker from following it's moi. Many tube amps don't.
aberyclark
1,355 posts
 
I really wish the tubes were more visible on the Rogue Stereo 100. Part of the appeal of tubes (with me anyway) is actually seeing them out in the open
rlb61 OP
789 posts
 
@aberyclark ... agreed. I really like to see tubes glow, especially big power tubes. Plus, in order to manually bias the tubes on the Rogue, you have to remove the cover held on by ten screws.
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