Audiophilia does sound creepy, but it's supposed to; it's a disease. |
Hey, i can totally relate to the OP. I had to cash out of my system 10 years ago and just now have been able to afford to get back in the hobby. Obviously i kept my account open here but while away just stayed out of here because this was a different league. I don't think anyone is trying to be rude to the OP because of his financial constraints. |
Btw, i looked at the tube cube 7; 3.5 watts. I think you could have done better with low power with an amp from Cary, VAC, audio note or wavac.
;^) |
wolf. My budget is for a Honda Civic and you keep trying to sell me on a Acura. The fact that you've never even heard this amp lends less credibility to your suggestions which are too expensive for me at this time. At one time I probably could have afforded to spend money like that on an amp but not these days.
I sincerely hope that none of you are politicians. With your spend with reckless abandon mindset it would help contribute to the continued bankrupting of our country. |
pawlowski. Glad to hear you get it. I've literally got to spend thousands for so many new things right now that have been neglected for years and that includes my stereo system. Aside from my speakers most of the other gear needed to be upgraded aside from the Yamaha S300 CD player. I need to buy so many things and do work at my house which leaves very little money for audio at this point.
The TubeCube7 aka Miniwatt N3 sounds BETTER than any of the SS amps I've owned. Why this is not getting though to some people is beyond me.
From where I sit I am getting anything but useful advice from a number of people on this subject. BTW. My friend the Broadcast Engineer is going to build his own Mono Block tube amps in the very near future. When I told him what I just bought he said he heard that many of these little amps sounded great and were reliable. What they lack, which keeps the price down is numerous inputs and outputs and that is precisely the reason they market these cheaper amps to people that want to get real tube sound but don't have the money to get the more expensive gear. |
Will62...I'm not trying to talk you into anything and hey, I get it, and even mentioned that I thought your amp seemed pretty cool. I'm into inexpensive gear with high value and great sound as I think it's simply more fun to seek out that stuff. |
@will62 .. I think you made a good choice with the TubeCube 7. A while back I purchased the APPJ PA0901A ($180, now discontinued). I believe it was APPJ who originated the design and licensed it to Tube Depot (and others). I used it for about 6 months before rolling the tubes, which made a big improvement across the board. IMO this little amp sounds much, much better than it should. I purchased it as an introduction to the SET/SEP world. After living with it for a year and being sure the SET approach was for me, I placed an order for a Decware amp. The little APPJ went into storage. I won't be getting rid of it, surely it will be put to good use again at some point in my future. Best of luck with your new amp. Sorry for being late to the party. |
Thanks wtf. Yes, it really is a very good amp. Wish I had more to spend but I don't. Maybe in the future. For now this one works just fine for me and with the preamp I have, I am able to use any of the components that I have with it. At some point if I buy another tube amp I will be sure to get something with more power that can drive my Castle Conway 3 towers. 8 ohm with a sensitivity of around 89 I believe. Not enough to sound right with the TubeCube7. |
The "where I wound up so far" story: I became enamored of the sound of my Had amp used with a pair of new 93db Sonist Recital 3 speakers until I put my previous Silverline Preludes (supposedly 91db) back in the system just to see how they sounded with the SEP amp. Sold the Recitals as the Preludes sounded more to my tastes, and that got me thinking about efficiency generally which led me to a pair of Klipsch Heresy IIIs. The Heresy IIIs at 99db are perhaps the most efficient 3 way around without getting into large horn loaded boxes, and they are a surprisingly coherent and clear speaker. I say surprisingly because I assumed I was too hip for a silly Klipsch speaker that had been around in some form since the steam power era, and man...these things are great, but need a sub or two. |
Since when is 3.5 W @ 8 ohms, even tube watts, adequate for anything other than quiet background music or super-efficient horn speakers? |
Well, efficiency is the key with low watt amps now isn't it. My Omega's are rated at 94.5 and I can assure you they most definitely play loud enough with just 2 watts. |
Besides efficiency, it is relative to the volume desired from the listening chair and the music being played. My home made 1 wpc class A amp ( a modified Citation 12 ), drives my Lascalas very well, but 1 or 2 notches higher on my preamp, or playing a song or 2 from Peter Gabriel ( just as an example ), and it runs out of steam. Enjoy ! MrD
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Lloyd. My 6 Ohm Mirage OM 10's are fine with this amp. 5 wpc and with a sensitivity of 91 db I get more than enough sound to hear it 30 feet away even with the volume knob around 11 AM. In the same room or an adjacent room and I can leave it at 9 AM and will be adequate for listening. |
Look at YouTube before buying nobsound. Guy takes apart his hybrid tube/SS amp to discover the tube section is fake! The transformer covers are empty!
If Yaqin is still on your list, look up the Yaqin group on Facebook. They have knowledge, own the products, and there is a thriving subset of them that do modifications, not just tube rolling. |
I have a couple of low power integrated tube amps, one at home and one at work and have tried them with speakers ranging from my Martin Logans @ 89dB/4ohm to my horn-loaded single drivers @ 95dB/8ohms and a couple of other speakers like Vandersteen 2Ci, Def Tech BP20, etc., in between. You can make music and hear it at a decent volume but playing loud is very different from hearing the recorded dynamics of the instruments, vocals not so much. Try playing an orchestral or a rock track at moderate listening levels and you'll get the point. Even a simple jazz trio will lack the dynamics when the power is not adequate for the target speakers. Playing loud is easy - think a $50 boombox, recreating the music dynamics is a different story.
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I wanted to update everyone on the Tube Cube7 amp performance.
Swapped out the tubes for the new edition of the Mallards (Mullard) for both the Power (EL84/6BQ5) and Pre amp (12AX7/ECC83). Also switched speaker cables from the AQ Type 4 to KnuKonceptz Kord Kable 14 Gauge speaker wire. What a difference. Bass is improved and also there is more air around the instruments i.e. better separation than with the stock Sino tubes. And I get a bit more sound stage with this speaker wire vs. the Type 4. Best of all, I can now use my Castle Conway 3 speakers with this amp and it will play as loud as the Mirage speakers. More than loud enough for me now even if I am sitting in a adjacent room and listening to the Castles! Great amp for the price. |
