Finally made the transition to a tube preamp!
I was always curious about the much hyped sound that one can get from quality tube amplification. People talk about 'tubey magic', 'the golden glow', etc. I was always curious, but was reluctant to go in that direction because the received wisdom is that unless you spend big bucks (like, money you could buy used car with), tube amplification will only disappoint. The rationale is that with less than top notch tube equipment, all you get is a muddled sound with weak, flabby bass and rolled off highs.
My opinion started changing once I obtained Carver M-4.0t power amp. I bought it because I wanted a lot of power to drive my Magnepan MG-1 planar speakers. Once I hooked Carver M-4.0t to my Maggies, the sound was transformed. Not only did Maggies start singing, the very character of the sound drastically changed. Carver made that amp with the intention to emulate his flagship tube power amp, and by the way that amp sounds, I'd say he came pretty darn close. Yes, I started hearing that 'magical 'tubey' sound. Very exciting!
However, that's not what really changed my way of enjoying music. Intrigued by this encouraging discovery (courtesy of the Carver amp), I started looking for an all tubes preamp. Of course, quickly realized that without paying at least three of four grand, I won't be able to afford quality tube preamp.
Then, by accident, found an ad on the craigslist selling Dynaco PAS-4. Tempted, I offered $475.00 and next thing you know, I got the preamp.
OK, so now, with Dynaco PAS-4 hooked into Carver M-4.0t, the sound is completely, radically different than anything I was able to hear before. This preamp is incredible. It seems to have it all: soft, sweet, mellow, liquid, golden glow sound coupled with muscular bass. It delivers almost frightening slam, and the soundstage is way larger than before.
Isn't it amazing that for less than $500.00 one can get such amazing sound? The only problem is, as I understand, Dynaco PAS-4 is quite a rare find. Allegedly, it was produced in the early 1990s in very limited quantities.
Bottom line, if you spot this preamp for sale, don't hesitate to snatch it. In my experience, it is quite amazing!
Welcome aboard. I’m not certain I agree with @blisshifi - at least that hasn’t been my experience. I find the amplifiers are more forgiving and the lower voltages in the phono and pre stages are more prone to tube noise. This is why tubes that test out with the lowest microphonics are considered necessary in those components. |
@zazouswing I agree with you as well… I guess it depends on the design. Not all all preamps are phono stages are microphonic, even one bit, but many of them are. And yes, proper tube matching and quality needs to be enforced due to the low level of the signal or else it will introduce noise and imbalance between channels. But properly done, it should be less noisy than having a high wattage tube amplifier (say 200wpc or more) to push harder to drive speakers like the OP’s Maggies. Yes Maggies can be driven fairly well with less than 200wpc, but a quality current amp with lots of headroom makes them shine due to their low impedance. |
I agree with others to leave the stock tube compliment in it and get familiar with it and once you get your system dialed in , speaker distance tweeted try some good quality tubes from a respected vendor. 6922 range from unobtainium holy grail to crap and everything in between. If you make only one change at a time you get a better feel for what works and what doesn’t |
