Amp Upgrade Path?
Or maybe the question should be: What am I missing? I'm relatively new to the tube world. About a year and a half ago I bought a used Rogue CM1 (KT120 power tubes) and have steadily upgraded sources and cables....and enjoying it very much.
I'm at what I guess I would call full circle again...meaning my sources are here to stay for the immediate near future and I'm back to thinking speakers and amps.
As I gather, different power tubes have different sonic signatures and I just don't have a reference to what that means.
Is a Prima Luna better then a CM1?
maybe an Air Tight?
And then there is configuration: Power amp with a preamp? Mono Blocks and a preamp?....or stay with an integrated.....
The major short fall of the CM1 (imho) was the phono stage. This was corrected by a EAR 834P mm/mc phono stage. Analog source is a Nottingham 294 Space deck w/ a Lyra cart....w/ Acoustic Zen Matrix interconnects - thank you Audiogon for getting me there.
Thanks for all recommendations
Budget: let's say 5K new or used
@tweak1 so a guy asks for a tube amp suggestion and your suggest a 500 wpc class D amplifier--the opposite end of the spectrum? Well that might go better with his inefficient speakers. And I've heard there is a new class of Class D amps out there giving class A a run for their money, but I haven't heard any of them. I guess this is one of them. So bottom line, especially since you say you've been down the tube path, I read your recommendation with interest. thanks. Jerry |
I should have led with Ive owned quite few tube products, including an all tube system; Rogue M150s with both cryoed EL34s/6550s, Lector preamp with dif balanced outs, and Raysonic 168 dif balanced CD player (and a 228 that died right when the company disappeared), Accoustat 2+2s with upgraded servo amps, when Judd Barber (Joule Electra) was alive he sent me a small OTL stereo prototype to evaluate, NYAL 150 and 300, and several tube preamps whose names I have long ago forgotten Having owned many class D amps; PS Audio GCC 250 (still in my TV rig), several W4S (stereo, mono, MC, Emerald Physics 100.2SEs, Audio Alchemy DPA 1, PS Audio M 700s, EVS 1200 which I raved about for over a year, until January of 2021 when my LSA Voyager 350 GaN amp arrived and stone cold blew away the EVS 1200. I have trouble including GaN in the same category as the non GaN class Ds as it is IMHO, on another level. hth |
With your budget and speakers look at Quicksilver pre and their KT monos. The pre will best your Rogue and their KT’s are now 100 watts. Rogue recommends rolling NOS Mullards in the small tubes. I much prefer Telefunkens and Siemens as they are considerably cleaner and more open. Your current KT 120’s are great for making power, however the new production Gold Lion KT 88 and KT 66’s are sweet. But for the long haul consider the Quicksilver gear or the new PL although it’s slightly over your budget. Happy Hunting, Mike B. |
