2. amps-preamps
  3. 1142338680

Leaning towards tubes, but need help long

Seeking an integrated or amp/pre-amp in the $1500-$3500 range new or used. My speakers are the old Conrad-Johnson Synthesis LM260s, which I still prefer over speakers well above their original cost such as the Krell LAT 2. Primarily listen to jazz, especially vocals, orchestral, chamber orchestra, string & brass ensembles. I’m not a hobbyist, so please forgive any misuse of terms. My primary priorities are what I’d call airiness, detail and texture (the separation of instruments, the “woody” texture and action of the fingers on strings, timbre on voices). I also like warmth, musicality or whatever you’d call it, but not at the cost of detail. I’ve never owned tubed gear, but still remember McIntosh electronics from years ago that blew me away on vocals. Was thinking in terms of the Krell KAV400xi to replace the 300i I wish I hadn’t sold, but it was too “in your face” for my taste. Other solid state units I considered were the Naim 5i (warm, but lacked detail) and the T+A PA1230 (warmth + detail, but not worth the $1000 premium over the Krell IMO). Current consideration list includes the Manley Stingray, Rogue, used Bryston power/pre, CJ CAV50 and, if its worth the stretch, a used Mark Levinson 383. Except for Bryston, I’ve not had a chance to audition any of these, so I may be making a leap of faith. Any input, especially in terms of the finickiness of tubed gear much appreciated!
mgoodwin

Showing 2 responses by kag

kag
7 posts
 
I too own the Cayin A88T and agree with Paul Burke on his assessment. A damn good amp for the price with musical sound,good bass, detailed and hamonically rich mids and sweet highs. Only, on certain (very few) recordings, the upper mids tend to be forward and bright sometimes. It may be due to the stock power tubes. The 6sn7s are RCAGTB.

The amp drives my Dyn 82s surprisingly well for just 22W. The sound does become congested with confused bass on bass heavy tracks such as Gladiator (this even in ultralinear mode). But this could be due to my power hungry speakers. I am sure this will not be an issue with more efficient speakers.

The only other issue on this amp is biasing. You have to open bias the amp from the inside. The process is easy but a bit risky. Internal biasing could be intimidating if you are new to tubes.

In terms of swapping tubes, it is cheap unless you go for very rare NOS tubes. A pair of current production KT88s could cost anywhere between $80-150 per quad. So this will not be a problem.
kag
7 posts
 
Hi Paul

I was also under the mistaken befief that the Cayin A88T is self/auto-biasing. This is NOT so. I have got this information directly from the manufacturer (Spark Audio). They have, infact, sent me the biasing instructions. I will be happy to email this to you. Can you confirm your email address?

The amp has to be biased from the inside. The bottom cover has to be removed. There is a cathode resistor for each tube. The voltage has to be measured across each resistor and the biasing pots (again internal), have to be set.

I checked the bias (actually the technician did) about 3 months from getting the amp. It turned out that one of the tubes was not biasing properly. I replaced it and the amp sounds much better now. The bias holds properly since then.

I don't know why the Chinese manufacturers mislead customers on the issue of biasing. Probably they are scared of liabilities in the unlikely event of a mishap.
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