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infinity 1b's- should i go tubes for top end???

audio friends,, i have infinity 1b's. a parasound 3500 for the bottom end and a rotel 1090 for the top end. the sound?? i think it sounds great. smooth and clean with great power. everybody says tubes for the top. to do this would mean selling the rotel for maybe $1000 and having to put out another $1000 to get say a 100wpc setup. amps in my range would be something like rogue 150's, audio research vs110's, cary slm100's. lets face it, i would want at least 100 wps for the mid/tweed panels. the BIG question is on just how much of an inprovement in sound is there going to be??. everybody says the rotel 1090 is a great amp, i tend to agree, and it does sound good. i would just hate to spend the time and money without decient results. and the reliable factor. the rotel probable will last for years. tubes?? how much up keep will they be just to get a decient year out of them. can someone convince me either way.
tomtab
schipo
1,268 posts
 
I have heard this to many times, Tubes on top and SS on bottom. I should think the best option would be to use the same amp's for top and bottom. This would achieve complete symmetry.
tomtab OP
97 posts
 
thank you schipo. which would you recommend i get the second of. the rotel 1090 or the parasound 3500??
schipo
1,268 posts
 
Try using two Classe DR-9 amps. They should work very well for your aplication. You could try two Parasound 3500 or Rotel's. This is a much better option then trying to make two different amp's from different companies with different technologies, Tube vs SS Gel together.
rwd
695 posts
 
Hi Tom...the ARC V100ll was quite good. Clear, clean articulate. I went to a ASL Hurricane for more power and I got it, although I do not listen at a very high level but the ASL gave me a greater stage and easy of sound. The problem I had with the "original" Hurricane was reliability. Therefore I went with the Mac's. It's just more reliable. What I got with the 2 MC 275's (180wpc) was more "flesh and body" on the bones of music. Yes, it is more of a tubey sound but smooth and sweet. I'm happy.
Schipo, however, is correct. There is the argument to keep house sound with amps so perhaps the same amp (or company) for top and bottom.

Anyway...I'm happy with what I have and best of luck.

Rick
RWD
tomtab OP
97 posts
 
thank you rick for your input. i am very happy with the amps i have now so maybe i will go for another one of the two. if i had to pick one over the other i think i would go with the 3500 parasound. heres why, first of all the amp provides top notch strong clean bass. most reviewers would agree with that. second, i did have the 3500 on the mid/tweeter panel once to see how it sounded and it did sound very good there. some folks might say the rotel is a little smoother then the parasound in the middle area but i really cant hear that muself. how some people can hear every little difference between amps i cant figure. i had five different amps on the mid/tweeter panel and to me, they all sounded 99% the same and ive been listening for a long time now. just maybe to my ears,any good amp sounds good. thanks for the help
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