2. amps-preamps
  3. 151005-5418

Would switching amps make a big difference?

I've been using a Belles 21a tube pre and a pair of PrimaLuna Prologue Sevens with Martin Logan Ethos speakers for the last 6 years and it sounds good. I'm pretty stuck in tube land. But does it get better?

I was wondering if a Raven Osprey Integrated amp or the Lyngdorf TDAI-2170 or another amp, ideally integrated could elevate and sound even more, around same price of $5k - which if I went ahead is about what my current amp setup should bring me.

Then there is the idea of switching to the Martin Logan ESL Impression 11a...

Thoughts? Suggestions?


cdc2
cdc2 OP
122 posts
 
Wow, I've gotten a ton of useful ideas here to my question and am thinking of starting with the Zero-Autotransformers which should solve the Martin-Logan / amp speaker compatibility issue.

Next question is, if I were to replace my admittedly old Belles 21a preamp - thoughts on the following 4 preamps?
> deHavilland UltraVerve 
> Backert Labs Rumba 
> Don Sachs 
> Linear Tube Audio
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,753 posts
 
Of the list above I would do the Sachs or deHavilland. The Backert Labs is an excellent preamp; IIRC it employs an output transformer. Since your amp is single-ended input I don't see an advantage with that. I also have a preference for 6SN7s as a line stage tube- to me they are more robust and musical than 6922s/6DJ8s or any of the 12A*7 series (we use the 6SN7 in the line section of all our preamps); that is how I arrived at this opinion.
luisma31
516 posts
 
@cdc2 the zeroes would be a quick fix for your specific case, down the road if that's an option and IMO I would replace the speakers by something more friendly impedance wise to your gear. Only my opinion.

cdc2 OP
122 posts
 
Thanks for all the advice.
I decided to try two things.

First i ordered a pair of the Zero Autoformers.
Just put them in a few days ago and the results were HUGE with my tube amps.

My Martin Logan Ethos speakers, sound fantastic. More detail, so much more live and tight from top to bottom. 

Next I ordered a deHavilland preamp. Which I’ll be testing next.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,753 posts
 
First i ordered a pair of the Zero Autoformers.
Just put them in a few days ago and the results were HUGE with my tube amps.
The trick with getting the highs right is something called gain bandwidth product. With most amps this is pretty poor. This can result in a harsh high end and is why a lot of solid state amps have troubles in this regard, especially when confronted with a low impedance load at the same time. The ZEROs at least help out with the latter. Making the amp's job easier is usually audible :)
More to discover