Solid state to tube
I have been a solid state guy since my start in this hobby. Over the years I have built a few systems and have used mainly older YBA seperates pre and power for my front end.
I also have a pair of musetex MT101 mono blocks from Meitner audio which I use as well.
My speakers are reference 3a lintegre
I am thinking of moving to a all tube system
. However I have little experience
I have looked at Quick Silver and a small boutique builder called Will Vincent. Have not heard anything yet. I thought I might inquire here first for any suggestions from tube savvy members
Second up is a very inexpensive preamp that is, IMO, a tube rollers dream (and/or nightmare depending upon the individual). I have gobs of the various tubes it can use (all old production) so it would be a nice dream, and fun, for me. https://www.musicalparadise.ca/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=103 DeKay |
Last up is a kit amp by Bottlehead (I've used their early inexpensive offerings for the past 20 years, thus the interest in this new product). I was not aware of it until a recent "user" post that I read here on A'Gon. If you are not interested in building a kit I think that they have someone (with a long standing positive reputation) mentioned in their forums/site who will do so. DeKay |
Lastly: I thought that this inexpensive/well reviewed ($1500 300B based DH/SET) amplifier might be a fun option, but due to the size of your listening room I'm not certain if it would work. I gathered that you would like to limit expenditures @ $3k or less. In my opinion the difference between decent DH/SET and other designs (excluding a few OTL amps I've heard) is not subtle.
DeKay |
Thanks for all the great help. Based on what I have read here I might hold off on going to a tube power amp. I will try a tube pre amp first and run it with my current YBA 1 solid state amp. I will also try with my Meitner mono blocks to see which I prefer. I currently use a older YBA signature pre amp with seperate power supply I think when I purchased it back in 2002 it was 10k so I wonder at what price point I will need to be at to get a comparable tube pre |
