My only hesitation with tube amps are the heat and the the potential of endless tube rolling and life and cost of power tubes. In addition, I would probably drive myself crazy trying to figure out when to replace the tubes. My solution is my tube pre amp and solid state monoblock amps.
Adding a tube amp is a good idea?
Dear all,
Hope your 2025 is off to a good start! I am thinking about adding a tube amp. Particularly Audio Research ref S80. Nicely used unit can be had for a reasonable price so I am considering it. You can see my virtual system for a full list but my system consists of LTA preamp, Pass Labs X250.8 amp and JA Perspective2 speakers. Totally happy and satisfied with the sound I get from the system, but just want to have another amp for a different flavour. Do you guys think ref 80s sounds different enough, for better or worse? Let me know what you think. Thanks