Solid state or tube what to do??

if your as you say itching to try tubes then sell the arcam outright & hunt down a more powerfull tube amp,a 30 watt tube amp dont leave you many options at all & your bass response will suffer not to mention the lack of any headroom,unless you always listen at lower volumes you will end up missing the power of the arcam with a 30 watt tube amp.

keep in mind that only on rare occasions do mods add any value to a peice of gear unless its a cap upgrade,one more thing to think about,30 watts is 30 watts no matter weather it be tube watts or ss watts.

mike.

Dear Randelldoyle: Your Quad speakers are not very efficient one: 88db, and their nomonal impedance is 6 Ohms ( but they go as down 3 Ohms ).

These speakers characteristics tell to any one that it will best matched with SS electronics.

You can choose a tube amp but you never really could heard the real great Quad 12L sound reproduction performance through tubes .

Every tube amp ( any ) has a high output impedance that preclude a steady ( frecuency response ) performance.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Go tubes - you will not be sorry.

keep your arcam

I took a bite from the bullet and traded my Arcam A85 Diva for the little Cayin TA-30. Some called me reckless and others were less kind :) I too have invested a great deal of time and effort into solid state amplifiers and decided to take the plunge into the world of tube. I have not had a great deal of time with the Cayin (actually, just a couple of hours), but already I cannot believe the level of transparancy from this amp. In addition, why doesn't every tube amp have that great feature known as "Focus Control" This allows you to tailor any speaker to the Cayin, adding or diminishing unwanted harmonics as you go. I guess it could be compared to an EQ or tone control on SS amplifiers. By leaving it at the 12 o clock position, it is the same as stock without the focus control knob. Bass is obviously not as tight as with the Arcam but definitely more natural. Highs are not as crisp as with Arcam but once again, dido. Mids are remarkable and the soundstage is incredible. All of this from a <1000 tube integrated. I can't even believe that it compares to a $2000 Arcam integrated that some high profile reviewers said was one of the best SS integrateds they have ever heard. That includes the Krell 300i etc. I agree that as SS goes, the Arcam competes with just about anything in its power rating, however,they definitely got it right with the little Cayin, snatch one up if you can find someone to sell it.

Thanks for the information,

Randy