2. amps-preamps
  3. 175868-157309

Amp Upgrade Path?

Or maybe the question should be: What am I missing? I'm relatively new to the tube world. About a year and a half ago I bought a used Rogue CM1 (KT120 power tubes) and have steadily upgraded sources and cables....and enjoying it very much.
I'm at what I guess I would call full circle again...meaning my sources are here to stay for the immediate near future and I'm back to thinking speakers and amps.
As I gather, different power tubes have different sonic signatures and I just don't have a reference to what that means.
Is a Prima Luna better then a CM1?
maybe an Air Tight?
And then there is configuration: Power amp with a preamp? Mono Blocks and a preamp?....or stay with an integrated.....
The major short fall of the CM1 (imho) was the phono stage. This was corrected by a EAR 834P mm/mc phono stage. Analog source is a Nottingham 294 Space deck w/ a Lyra cart....w/ Acoustic Zen Matrix interconnects - thank you Audiogon  for getting me there.
Thanks for all recommendations
Budget: let's say 5K new or used
 

smaarch1

Showing 2 responses by tweak1

tweak1
3,685 posts
 

Having owned lots of tube kit, I can confidently say, the new LSA Voyager GaN 350 will keep a grin on your face for many yeas to come

tweak1
3,685 posts
 

@carlsbad

 

I should have led with Ive owned quite few tube products, including an all tube system; Rogue M150s with both cryoed EL34s/6550s, Lector preamp with dif balanced outs, and Raysonic 168 dif balanced CD player (and a 228 that died right when the company disappeared), Accoustat 2+2s with upgraded servo amps, when Judd Barber (Joule Electra) was alive he sent me a small OTL stereo prototype to evaluate, NYAL 150 and 300, and several tube preamps whose names I have long ago forgotten

Having owned many class D amps; PS Audio GCC 250 (still in my TV rig), several W4S (stereo, mono, MC, Emerald Physics 100.2SEs, Audio Alchemy DPA 1, PS Audio M 700s, EVS 1200 which I raved about for over a year, until January of 2021 when my LSA Voyager 350 GaN amp arrived and stone cold blew away the EVS 1200. I have trouble including GaN in the same category as the non GaN class Ds as it is IMHO, on another level.

hth

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