You need to find a dealer that you are comfortable with to help you. There are a lot of factors involved in picking compatible equipment. Especially amps and speakers. How big is your room? What kind of music do you listen to? How loud do you listen? Most people probably only use 1-2 watts of power for most of their listening. You might be one of those people. Again a good dealer can help you figure this kind of thing out. You are going to need to try some amps out to find out what will work best for you. My advice to you is to stop shopping for an amp and go shopping for a dealer. Once you find the right dealer everything will get easier. You might find out that what works best for you is something completely different than what you thought you wanted in the first place. Also, once you find that dealer stick with him/her forever. Give that dealer your loyalty. Doing so will save you time, money and make you a much happier and more successful audiophile.
Help with first tube amp
I’m looking for some guidance on purchasing my first tube amp.
My current setup: Speakers: Sonus Faber Sonetto 1 G2 bookshelf speakers. (I plan to add a subwoofer soon)
Amp/Source: Cambridge Audio EVO 150 (all-in-one integrated with built-in streamer & DAC)
The EVO 150 made sense originally because I didn’t have room for multiple components, but after some renovations I now have space and flexibility to build out a proper system.
Since this would be my first tube amp, I was hoping to keep costs reasonable and have been considering: •Muzishare X7 (KT88) •Cayin A-88T (KT88) •A used Muzishare R100 (300B) available locally •A used Brunoco Terra 6L6 PP available locally
My questions:
1. Will I actually hear a meaningful difference between my EVO 150 and these lower-cost tube amps?
2. Are my Sonus Faber Sonetto 1 G2s at 87 db sensitivity a good match for these lower-power tube amps ?
3. Anything I should keep in mind as a first-time tube amp buyer who listens mostly to vinyl and streaming?
4. What If I used the EVO 150 as a pre amp with the tube amp as power source only? Would that still give me that tube sound ?
Thanks in advance — really appreciate any advice from folks with experience!
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A huge thank you to everyone that has taken the time to respond. All of this is super helpful. Seriously - thank you. The audiophile community is the best. So after reviewing all the comments it seems I ned to upgrade my speakers to get that true tube sound experience if I wanted to go straight tube integrated. If I found speakers in the 90 db sensitivity at 8 ohms - will that do or do I need to look for higher sensitivity? Most of the amps I have bee looking at output 20-30 watts. I have a medium size listening room and since I live in a condo in Brooklyn, I can't really crank the volume and need to listen at moderate levels. Lastly, for the tube amp owners out there. Do you prefer the 300B, KT88 or EL34 tube sound>. How would you describe the sound differences of each? |
@licarijo So much depends on design and execution that it really isn't very accurate to assign a 'sound' to any power tube. But it does seem to work out that of higher powered tube amps the EL34 is often cited as the best sounding power tube. My surmise is in your budget a 300b based amp that is actually worthwhile is outside the budget you mentioned. But if you were to compare to an EL34 or KT88 you'd want that 300b amp to be push-pull and not SET. SETs don't make much usable power (about 20-25% of full power; if you want the most musical presentation) so you'd need speakers much more efficient than just 90dB- more like 100dB is needed! But 90dB and 8 Ohms would work fine with a PP amp of 35 Watts- like the Dynaco ST70. Dynaco makes/made a smaller amp called the ST35 that is more musical- hard to say if it would work in your situation but if you're not playing it that loud (IOW if it has enough power) that would be the better choice as the EL84 is an easier tube to drive and so can be lower distortion than the larger octal-based power tubes like the EL34.
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Well, it might be worth finding the amp you want and then just see if it works with your speakers in your situation. Or, the Black Ice F22 and LSA VT150 are highly rated, are in your price range new and likely have enough power for your speakers so may be another option to consider. I’d think they offer some kind of trial period, which would be a nice option to have. https://blackiceaudio.com/integrated-amplifers-1/p/black-ice-fusion-f22v2-tubeintegrated https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/lsa-amplifiers
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