Tube sound with no tubes

I would tend to agree with Bob (Ontjesr). It would seem that if there was one out there that could replicate the sound of tubes, we all would ditch our tube preamps. I mean no one really likes replacing tubes, we do it because it sounds better than SS.

If you are stuck on SS though, the darTZeel NHB-18NS would probably come as close as you can get to tube sound from silicon chips. Of course with a list price of $23,250 I would hope so.

Cheers,
John

maybe Ayre? I found them more musical and warmer than most tupe amps.

I have the Jeff Rowland battery powered Coherence II and while I cannot necessarily say that it is the equivalent of tubes, it has never left me wanting for a tube preamp either. I use the Aesthetix Rhea tube phono amp, so I am quite familiar with the qualities which tubes impart. On the digital end I use an MBL 1511F DAC and Accustic Arts Drive 1. Through the Coherence, the sound is very analog sounding and has a lush, rich midrange, which in my opinion is what tubes do best. Jeff has a brand new flagship preamp coming out, the Criterion if I am not mistaken. I haven't heard it, but it will set you back $15,000 or more. A Coherence can be had for a third the price.

Maybe there's something wrong with your pre-amp. Pre-amp tubes do not fail often -- they usually last about 10,000 hours, I think. Before you give up the tube pre-amp, maybe you should check it out. I've had mine for several years with no tube failure.

I have to agree with Ontjesr and the others above. I had a McIntosh 6900 SS integrated amp. Sold it to get the McIntosh 2275 tubed integrated amp. For my ears, big difference in sound - tubes over solid state. The bonus plan is that with the 2275, unless one is using the phono section, the sound depends only on a pair of 12AT7's and not on any of the other (4) tubes. As such, I'm running Telefunken 801S 12AT7's - glorious sound.