I'm going back to tubes... a question for y'all

Sean makes some very valid point. In addition, don't fail to recognize that a quality SS amp will play for years requiring nothing but occasional dusting and possibly cleaning the connectors.

I'm not sure that I would expect then same from tubes. It's the fuel injection vs. carburetion analogy. F.I. is very reliable and incredibly efficient, carbureters aren't. But there is nothing like the sound of a big ol' quad with all four barrels open.

Only drawback? You could be running second in a two car race.

It depends on the track and driver.

Which amp are you buying from Paul, the Cayin TA-30 or a classic re-furb'd tube amp? I purchased both a stock and fully modified Cayin from Paul and they are tremendous values. Plus, you get Paul! Buying a Chinese built amp from someone that doesn't personally know how to repair it is not a very good idea. I spoke with a dealer the other day that told me ALL warranty services are provide through the seller, not the manufacturer. Probably a good thing since shipping a 45 lb amp back to China would be very costly!

Enjoy,

TIC

I just replaced my Bel Canto 200.2s with Atma-sphere M60 MK II.2s (from Audiogon, thank you Steve!). I'd had the earlier M50s and stupidly sold them to replace them with the Bel Cantos. The latter were nice and got my Von Schweikert VR-4s off the ground and were fast but I always felt I was missing something (like low level detail). I got Paul Speltz's Zero autoformers this time around, and they step up the input impedence of the speakers so that the M60s can drive them with authority. My system has never sounded better.Good luck.

Sean, you hit the nail squarely on the head. Not all material is as cleanly recorded as Levinsons Red Rose sacd. The breathy sax, the airy voices, the strings...masterful and engaging. The orchestral tracks in The Little Mermaid show off dynamics and soundstage to a fare-thee-well.

When I put on Mark OConnors 'Heroes' (and other cd and/or vinyl) and all I can think about is 'how poorly recorded' some of these tracks are, it really can get in the way of enjoying the musical intention these folks laid down.

My thought in stepping up to the 'tube plate' was based on sweetening up the system a bit, and getting back to enjoying the music. If a touch of accuracy and dynamics are lost, so be it. If it 'distorts' the recording in a positive way, that could be just peachy. If it's 'real music' and I get sucked into the performance, it will be worth it.

I guess it's feeble attempt (or a copout?) on the path of upgradeitis. I am trying to avoid replacing every cable and component in this digital system two or three times in the chase for the sweet sound of tubes. Basically just skipping the middleman and heading straight for the glow of valves. If it doesn't work out, well, back to the drawing board.

I'ts funny, I don't remember having any trouble at all with my old tube stuff, tho the S.C. did cook a capacitor once that I easily replaced. Memory is a funny thing, and maybe I'm not remembering the sweet sound of tubes at all... but the smell of Grandma's pot roast! ;-)

Rwbadley,
I'm with you. After college I lost track of my great tube system and had modest solid state systems for many years. Also discovered "perfect sound forever" and lost interest in listening for lack of time and money.

In the last couple of years I have acquired another system...this time it's pretty high end with tubes and vinyl all over the place. I spent a lot of time auditioning systems and my experience--clearly not as exhaustive as many on this site--is that tube amps are just more musical (at least at the price I can afford).

My system is well-behaved. Sure, I have to mess with biases and replace tubes occasionally but nothing catastrophic.

Best wishes,