Are Tube Buffers for real or even worth it ?

I have always found that every time I add something in the sound path, I get some good, but also some bad. Either something is muted or something now has more noise. So I try and keep things short and simple. Preamp, amp, speakers, or on my second system it’s integrated, speakers. 
 

All the best.

JD

You have to be careful using the inexpensive tube “buffer” preamps. Some are just straight wires input to output. The tubes only see filament voltage. I have one; only when I pulled off the covers, traced the circuit board, did I find that there was no “tube buffer”.  
 

Another one I have uses a unity gain opamp with only filament voltage to the tubes. 
 

Three times is the charm….The third one I bought actually uses the tubes for unity gain. 
 

And….The whole idea is to add tube harmonics to the sound! So yeah, they are distortion machines!!  LOL!!!!

Save your money for a proper piece of tube equipment...

The TFM-35 is an amazing sounding amp. I found one on eBay new in the box. Even today, its top end is astoundingly smooth even by today's standards.

I ran it through a Don Sachs preamp wih 6SN7s and it was heaven. Doing that and having a dedicated AC line put in helped bass output a good bit. 

Bass output on these amps is extremely flat. But, in many ways, this is a good thing because speaker position and treatment can fix that without things getting boomy.

As mentioned, no need to get tube buffers. Get the best front end you can afford. 

I tried a couple of those cheap Chinese tube buffers you find on eBay and they were no good.  They were starved plate designs - only about 12 volts or so on the plates and op-amps in the circuit doing the work.  Then I tried a Bellari PA555 tube preamp for only $300.  The single 12AX7 is actually functioning with high plate voltage followed by op-amps for a very low output impedance.  This is not a starved plate design.  Let the trolling begin but I am happy with the tube sound it adds.