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Impressed with Tubes

For the first time, I auditioned a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 100s run through a Rogue Perseus tube preamp & a Rotel RB1080 S/S power amp. Prior to that, I have never auditioned a tube preamp. Wow! What a difference! A richer, more integrated sound with the Rogue Perseus compared to S/S alternatives. Now that I am hooked on tubes, a few quick questions:

(1) Would there be a significant difference if I went with a tube power amp as well?

(2) Compared to the Rogue Perseus, has anyone had any experience with the Rogue Metis preamp?

(3) Other recommendations for tube preamps?

I am having a ball doing research for a new 2-channel system. And listening to a tubed component for the first time was a real treat!

Thank you for any help!

Kit
kitjv
kitjv OP
69 posts
 
Darkmoebius: In response to your questions.... I generally listen to jazz at moderate levels. My ears value a balance integrated sound which reproduces a live performance. An overly bright tremble or heavy bass is not desirable to me. I am leaning toward the Paradigm Reference Studio 100 main speakers with the Rogue Perseus tube preamp & Rotel RC 1080 S/S power amp.

Thanks, everyone, for guiding me through the myriad of available choices.

Also, if I can dovetail my own thread here....what are the main maintenance issues with tubes? How often to replace?
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Pay close to attention to Rlawry and Atmasphere's comments, a tube amplifier must be well mated to the speakers. Certain speakers need to have SS amplification if they do not have linear impedance (one might argue these are not particularly well desgined speakers, but that is another issue), but if you have "tube friendly" (your dealer should be able to help, or the speaker mfg)speakers, I think you will go to tube amps and never come back.
darkmoebius
900 posts
 
Solid state amp is a fairly good idea, check out the Stereophile measurements (impedance graph).

Other preamps you might also want to look int Modwright, BAT, Audio Research, K&K....
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Agree on SS for these speakers. How much are you willing to spend to upgrade from the Rotel?
twb2
129 posts
 
There are tube amps that do a great job with extremely difficult speaker loads (SoundLab electrostatics) such as Wolcott. Unfortunately these amps are not well known due to a lack of advertising. Furthermore, Wolcott amps are extremely easy to maintain, due to auto biasing. Henry Wolcott's patents have prevented other manufacturers from copying his circuits. I have a pair which are going on 8,000 hours with only two tube failures. In each case, a LED indicated which tube needed replacement. Simply a matter of inserting a new one. These amps do a superb job from bass to treble. I also own Halo JC-1's which do a great job, but I prefer tubes!
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