2. amps-preamps
  3. 1100726914

Argh Too Many Choices

I have been considering switching to an all-tube preamp/amp combo for a little while and have read a lot of reviews of various tube equipment. There is just too much to choose from, as soon as I think I've settled on something I read about another product and start re-thinking my choices. I can't remember if it was Alvin Toffler or John Nesbitt who coined the term "hyper-choice" (or something like it), whereby consumers are faced with so many products to choose from that they end up feeling paralysed or frozen and unable to make a decision. In any event, I seem to be afflicted by this phenomenon.

Here is a sample of tube gear that I had decided upon only to find something else to consider:

- Wright Sound Mono8 amps and WLA12 pre;
- Canary Audio CA301 MkII amp and CA880 pre;
- Rogue Magnum 90 amp and 66 or 99 pre;
- Manley Mahi monos and Shrimp pre;
- Yamamoto A-08 45 SET amp (2 Wpc) and CA-04L pre;
- and many others, but these are the most recent ones.

Currently I have a Blue Circle BC21.1 tubed pre and BC22 ss amp, an Anthem CD-1 player, NAD tuner, Rune speakers are by Zu (sensitivity of 101dB, 12 Ohms impedance), and Zu interconnects, speaker cables and pc's. As you can see, the speakers are high sensitivity with a 10" full-range driver supplemented by a supertweeter without a crossover. This is the main reason I've considered low-powered SETs. Also, I feel the BC21.1 has too much gain for this set-up, I don't get very far with the volume control before hitting my comfort zone and it's not easy to achieve a level for late-night listening.

I'm looking for some tube magic to enhance the presence of the music, infuse a bit of warmth into a somewhat bright system, although it is not glaringly so, and fill out the bass a little more. Thoughts and advice would be most welcome.

Regards.

Max
mghcanuck
jeffloistarca
1,004 posts
 

Max,

"Paralysis by analysis", all too common. It would help if you shared with us your room, musical preferences, and budget. For what it's worth I have a Golden Tube SET listed here on AudioGon, drop me a line if you're interested. End of shameless plug. Best, Jeff
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
SET and horns are no doubt a luscious combination. However, if it's more bass that you want, I would suspect that you would want a speaker that digs deeper than the one you have. Nothing like a little more bass to chase that 'top heavy' brightness away.

I happen to love the Wright Stuff. His 3.5 mono's have less bass than the Mono 8's, but oh, what a midrange! We are currently using an Audion 7W SET, with horns as well. A wonderful sound. Plan on delving into the NOS tube world for the best sound available.
budrew
467 posts
 
Can you demo any of your choices? That usually whittles down the options pretty quick, or at least gives you a better sense of what you like and don't like.
howie
230 posts
 
To my knowledge there's a switch at the back of the preamp that will allow you to select different gain settings. Stupid to ask, but you obviously have tried the lowest setting right?

Are you set on your speakers? I have no knowledge of the Runes but since the Blue Circle gear can hardly be classified as bright to my knowledge, it very well could be the speakers that are bright. Have you played with speaker positioning? Lessen the toe-in?

But if you're set on the speakers. Have you tried removing your amps from the power conditioner? That might put some colour back into your system and fatten up the bottom end. Either way, it's a free try. Consider Conrad Johnson gear as well. They should really mellow out your sound.

Could your room be the cause of your brightness? Try hanging up some heavy rugs or quilts to see if it brings about an improvement.

Sorry if this hasn't been much help. I could tell you that I don't think Manley amps would be the right solution for you. They are a great value, don't get me wrong, but they aren't in the "warm and mellow" part of the tube gear spectrum. They will do bass better than pretty much any tube amp in it's price range and has the transparency and inner detail refinement that you want from a tube amp but they are meant be able to "rock".
philnyc
162 posts
 
Max,

Does your BC21.1 have the Shallco volume control? If so, there is a "low-gain"/"high-gain" switch; if you think you are getting too much gain, you might want to take the cover off and see which position the switch is set to. There's something like a 12db gain difference between the low and high setting, so if it's on high, maybe you'll get results more to your liking on the low setting...

Phil
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