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  3. 159891-2029

Never Owned a Tube Amp and Want Advice

Hi All, 

I have never owned a tube amplifier before and am planning to purchase one with a minimum of 50 watts per channel to mate with 8 ohm 88 dbl speakers.

My hope is experienced audiogoners will share their expertise regarding how to approach this. While I realize listening is the best way to learn about sound and compatibility; I want to learn a better understanding about brands with less maintenance and longer tube life, how to decide between mono or stereo,can a newbie play with bias or is auto biasing a better first choice, etc.

I would also appreciate what to look for in selecting a used tube amp to identify one that might be in need of repair. For example, with solid state depending on the brand, capacitor replacement can be more of a concern. Any advice on what to look out for or ask about with used tube amps would be appreciated.

A big question I have is how to understand the relationship between power tubes like E34's, 120.s, etc. and, I guess the driver? tubes like 12au7's and 12at7's. That  is to ask which is more critical to the overall sound of the amp? FWIW, I routinely tube roll with my preamps.  

I 've read through a number of threads but maybe someone can point me to good ones I may have missed. 

Thanks for listening,

Dsper
dsper
dsper OP
664 posts
 
Do you have another source besides CD?
It's taking longer than a week for the USPS to ship my "butt uglies" 200 miles. Should arrive on Monday...really looking forward to breaking the covid19 monotony :-) !

In the meantime, I set up my turntable.This is a Technics SL1200Mk 5 with an AT150MLX cartridge. 

I still have a bit of sibilance so I am hoping the butt uglies will help. 



orpheus10
8,668 posts
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9slncqqIQUE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-7TIry4PaI
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,169 posts
 
In the meantime, I set up my turntable.This is a Technics SL1200Mk 5 with an AT150MLX cartridge.
Turntables, especially those with high output, can have a variety of issues causing sibilance. Make sure you have a low capacitance cable between the tonearm and preamp- that will help prevent brightness. The cable should not be more than a meter and 12-20pf per foot is a good value for capacitance of the cable.


The mechanical setup of the cartridge in the arm (VTA, tracking angle and the like) also can affect its tonality. The platter pad can too- the rubber mat found on most Technics machines isn’t helpful. This is all probably a topic for another thread, but since it all affects sibilance I felt I should mention this.
wolf_garcia
6,795 posts
 
My Heresy IIIs (allegedly 99db efficiency) with my recently acquired MQA streamer and higher capability turntable cartridge are clear as a bell using a 12wpc or so little SEP amp...no clue how hard I'm pushing the little amp (it gets loud...sometimes...often alcohol related so SUE ME) but I'm very sensitive to overload distortion and seem to be using a relatively small amount of the wattage as I hear no breakup or distortion...none...the bass under 58hz is covered swimmingly by 2 powered subs.
dsper OP
664 posts
 
Well, the 1960's Amperex tubes have been installed about ten hours now and I can hear less sibilance and the sound is clearer to me. This is with both the DAC and turntable. 

I feel I should be using the digital front end to evaluate any further amp changes, as my digital is further along the quality curve. 

The analog seems a bit thin and tipped to the treble in comparison to the digital which is fuller with better soundstage.

I have sent the Technics 1200 off to KABUSA for a tonearm rewire and intend to install their fluid damper that had just been sitting in the box. We'll see after that.

I have both a felt and rubber mat. Not sure I can tell a difference but the best sound has been when using both mats! with the rubber mat sitting on the felt mat; and with appropriate adjustment in tonearm height. 

While cost is not necessarily a quality gauge, with $6,500 list in my digital and less than a $1,000 list in the analog; I keep thinking real improvement is going to require a better table and cartridge.

Anyway, I appreciate the comments that have been shared on this thread. I have learned a lot. 

At some point, I am going to be looking for another tube amp so stay tuned!

Thanks, Dsper
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