To Tube or not to Tube, that is the question
I've been building a collection of hifi equipment with an ear to sampling the major families of tech and their characteristic sounds. One thing I don't have is a tube amp, unless you count my Rogue Sphinx. I like DIY if the final product is of good quality and design. I'm not averse to used either. Budget range is $1000-2000.
Can anyone suggest a tube amp, either power or integrated that would bring a nice sound flavor to my sandbox and not break the bank. OR do you think the Sphinx and the Pass amps pretty well serve up most of what is to be had in terms of tubey goodness and maybe this is not a worthwhile venture?
Here is what I have got in the way of speakers to play with:
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KEF LS50 |
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Tangent RS4 |
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Klipsch RP-160 |
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DIY Lii F6/Caintuck |
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DIY Lii F15 (under construction) |
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AR 2ax |
And here is the current line up of amps:
Rogue Sphinx
ClassD Audio Mini Gan 5
DIY Firstwatt F6
DIY Pass ACA (2)
Onkyo TX-6000 Receiver
Thanks in advance for your opinion.
Thanks but the ST35 is also available from Dynakit directly. I learned this when I gave him a call. Seems the business has been paired back to a one man operation from home and he prefers to take orders by phone. Apparently he has not updated the web site, but the owner seems like a very nice fellow. He had one available for me but I was not quite ready to order yet. @russ69 Thanks for that comment. It kind of helped bring into focus the fact that for me the desire to build something new is at least as much of a driving factor in this as any new sound I will experience. I notice that very frequently the momentum at Audiogon is for buying something new regardless. |
