2. amps-preamps
  3. 1352662529

How big of a difference do amps make?

There are probably plenty of threads on this subject so dont be frustrated...im looking for those who went from ss to tube amps.
Current system:
Thor TA-1000
Merlin TSM-MMM
H/K Citation 16
cheap cdp
Im looking to upgrade amps to Thor 30's with maybe Marantz 8004 cdp.
Just curious what to expect... Thanks Jayson
mcpherson
sympaticonorm
103 posts
 
I am no expert but I have heard a significant difference in sound tonality, etc...whether it be when trying a different amp, a different preamp, or a different source when using the same speakers. And then, when trying different speakers with these same components...again a significant difference in sound again...and on and on.....IMHO any component in the chain can make a significant difference (to some degree) in sound.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
McPherson, yes, without question. I went from a Carver M 1.5t amp Carver C-1 preamp to a McIntosh 7270 SS amp to the Carver C-1 pre then tried both amps hooked up to my current Cary SLP98P tube pre. The pre made a difference with the SS amps and so did the amps, then I hooked up a Cary V12R tube amp to the Cary tube pre, and heard a big difference, and an even bigger difference when I hooked up my current Cary CAD120's tube amp. Thursday, I'll be getting some (8) matched Gold Lion KT-88 tubes to find out if they will make a difference instead of the stock Electro-Harmonic's.
jdoris
972 posts
 
Amps make a huge difference!! Compare systems with amps to those without, the difference is night and day!!

Historic moment: the first time Rok has said *any* equipment change is audible! :)
phaelon
1,053 posts
 
I’m no physicist - just a Science Channel junkie; but it seems that modern physicists no longer talk about space and time as separate entities. That’s because they found that space and time are so codependent that the singe word spacetime is more useful. I’m beginning to think that it’s time for audiophiles to do the same thing with speakers and amplifiers. Like space and time, they are so codependent that to consider them separately serves very little purpose. Just a thought.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Liz,
Maybe you had a bad encounter with a tube power amp I don`t know. I can tell in 20 plus years of using various tube amps they are simple and trouble free.

We all accept that the best amp choice depends on your speakers.Liz, in my experience tube amps have been more realistic and life-like then any SS amp I`ve heard in all these years.I understand your experiences are different from mine.

My current amp is the simplest,trouble free,reliable and by far the best sounding I`ve ever owned.IMO SS amps with odd and upper order distortion is more obviously 'colored' and wrong sounding than many tube amps that admittedly will have more even order distortion. YMMV is definitely true.
Regards,
More to discover