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Moving away from tubes. Is this a good idea?

I need a new amp for my Totem Sttafs and REALLY considered tubes. My final thought is that if you don't have a certain pile of money you are only kissing your sister. Have you ever seen my sister? Besides there is a Devel's Tower of a learning curve for me to climb around tubes and I'm really anxious to just sit down and listen without any anxiety (if you know what I mean).

I have an opportunity to pick up a JungSon JA 88-D class A integrated amp. Just one piece of electronics to move onto the rack (but what a BIG piece:-)

I have a relatively med/small room (16'x17'x8'). The speakers are rated 8hm, 88dB, and 100 W max. program.

The amp is rated at 80 wpc, class A, RMS 8ohms.

From what I read the JungSon is about as close to a tube sound via ss as I can get without breaking into the kids xmas fund. I just want a rich full room of acoustical/vocal/instrumental music.

Could you give me your opinion if you think the Sttafs will be underpowered or unmatched.

Thanks.
djh
phaelon
1,053 posts
 
"Besides there is a Devel's Tower of a learning curve for me to climb around tubes and I'm really anxious to just sit down and listen without any anxiety (if you know what I mean)."

I once felt exactly the same way and couldn't have been more wrong. I'm sure there are twitchy, high maintenance tube amps out there but it doesn't have to be that way, and tubes can offer a great deal more than the typical warm, fuller sound people identify them as having.

I was also considering Rogue for recommendation but I've never personally owned one so Tvad's words of caution shouldn't be ignored; neither should Atmasphere's, my experience with Totem has been that they come alive with power.
springbok10
711 posts
 
In case it helps you, let me tell you that my Atmasphere tube amps (MA-2) have 58 tubes, the MP-1 has 5 tubes and in 3 1/2 years I have not had to replace even ONE tube nor had any problems whatsoever! (except when I installed the amps, I literally broke one and blew a fuse). So, rest assured, tube amps are as reliable as ss amps and certainly are not necessarily any more work. Admittedly, you may have to bias them occasionally, but if you get an auto-bias set-up, you wont even have to do that.
pehare's avatar
pehare
838 posts
 
run, don't walk
vicdamone
850 posts
 
I strongly suggest you keep your tube amplifier for a long while. Any transition is going to be dramatic. I don't mean that in a positive or negative way but more in a matter of taste. I still insert my tube amp from time to time, it's an old friend and tuff for me to let go. Unfortunately, I get board with is lack of resolution and bandwidth in comparison to my current amps. It's also a reference point, if a different design can best it then your on to something.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,230 posts
 
Reading thru all of the responses, I concur with Tvad on trying the recommended Cayin or Prima Luna integrateds. These amps all have exceptionally solid "bang for the buck" reputations. Rogue Cronus is also a noteworthy suggestion.

Aball's suggestion about adding a subwoofer is also hard to dismiss. I added a REL Storm III ($1,000 used) to my Dynaudio C2's and it really made a significant positive impact to the overall sound.
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