Was in the same place a few years ago and decided to try a tube preamp with my Mac MC250 which is tubish sounding. Got a budget Chinese tube pre from YS Audio/Audio Expressions and a CJ PV 10. Both were eye openers and really increased my enjoyment especially of jazz, acoustic music, and my favorite female vocals. I ultimately went in a different direction but primarily because my wife was uncomfortable with the tube operations and living in HI the heat was kind of rough. Likely not as bad as a tube power amp but it made its impact known. If you like your power amps, I would suggest trying a pre first. BTW I did hear the CJ45/50 in a store in Memphis and LOVED it. It was superior to the Cronus and much more of the tube sound. The Cm seemed to me to be a SS amp with soft edges. I also liked the Quicksilver but felt it would not work well with my Ohm Walsh 2s. But both of those are quite nice and give the tube experience. I also have heard Raven Audio and Primaluna and would rate Raven highly. I am not sure of their prices these days but the unit I heard at a friends in NY was very nice playing thru Kef LS50s in a small NYC apartment. Good luck.
My first tube integrated: which one to get?
Hello Audiogoners. I have had only Solid State equipment for my entire life. Recently, I have been considering a purchase of an integrated tube unit. My budget is around $4.000 USD. I have been looking at two units in particular: Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III and the Cary Audio SLI-100. I’m having trouble deciding on which one to purchase. I was hoping the Audiogon community could advise me as to which one to get.
My current system consist of a pair of Emotiva XPA-100 mono blocks, Parasound P6 and a Music Hall 9.3 TT with an Goldring Erotica LX cart. My speakers are Focal Aria 926. I have a smallish room, 11’7” (3.56m) x 15’7” (4.78m). I should also note that I’m planning on getting a DAC after my integrated amp purchase.
Both tube units I’m considering provide 100 watts/channel in Ultralinear but the Rogue Audio is switchable to triode mode at 60watts/channel. The Rogue unit is of a KT120 configuration whereas the Cary unit is a KT150 design. The Rogue has an onboard MM/MC phono stage albeit solid state. The Cary has no phone stage therefore I’ll need to get some sort of step-up phono stage from my MC cart. The Cary unit, normally a $6,000 plus system is on sale for $3700. The Rogue unit is $3400. I listen to manly rock from the 60s to current and some classical. However, I have been enjoying my friends jazz collection he gave me, inspiring my to seek out more contemporary jazz recordings.
My question are:
Should I even consider this purchase?
Will I experience the upgraded tube-quality sound I’m hoping for?
Should I consider instead a tube-based preamp to go with my 250watts into 8 ohms mono blocks?
If you recommend the pre-amp path, what sorts of things should I be paying attention to?
How important is it to have the ability to switch to triode mode? I understand that acoustic jazz sounds much better in triode mode?
Is there anything else that I should be considering with this possible purchase?
I should also say that I don’t mind used if I can achieve a bigger bang for my buck. Buying either the Rogue or the Cary new provides me with a generous 3-year warranty.
There you have it. I look forward to your input. Thank you all in advance for your help.
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- 74 posts total
- 74 posts total