Would you give me some advice, and help me to select well matched single ended triode tube amp and speakers?
Here’s the background.
I really like the Harbeth 30.2’s and Luxman 505 I’ve had for the last few years. They produce real and true music. Yet, as those years have gone by, I have realized that I’m ready for a change; I want something more.
As may be the case with many of us, my listening tastes have evolved. So has my awareness of what audio technology can mean for the listening experience. 70’s? Whipping Post couldn’t be loud enough, Dave Mason pretty enough, or Little Feat clear enough and my Pioneer amp with Advents and Altec’s did well. 80’s? Hard to remember, but Steely Dan and Van Morrison joined the playlist that included the above and most everyone on the blues/rock/folk scene. 90’s and aughts? Started to have the resources to have the system I wanted, but also had kids. Tried to stay up with popular music, but nah, couldn’t happen. Nice set of Monitors and Denon, and switched to CD/s. (Sad but true). Then, 15 years in the desert. Working, putting in packaged AV systems for the family and music mostly coming from the kids rooms.
Today, I find myself with no kids and a rekindled interest in just listening to music. I have re-built a modest vinyl collection and a very nice system that meets the listening objectives of the old day. Clear, great range and any volume I want. In addition to vinyl, I listen to Tidel through a BlueSound Node. My system also includes a pair of Harbeth P3ESR’s in my study that I love.
And I’m not satisfied. I want something different.
My listening preferences have gotten quieter and moved toward jazz and detail and staging. For every Beatles, Stones or Stevie Ray Vaughan record I play, there are two Holly Cole’s or Oscar Peterson or Dave Brubeck. And, my room is smaller.
As it turns out, what really floats my boat is when I hear the music and not the speaker. I love a pronounced soundstage for my listening. I want to be in the room where the music was made.
I’m not an audiophile and have spent some time (and money) learning how little I know. I live some distance from any place to listen except friends’ houses, so I’m experimenting all I can. And I’ve pretty much fallen in love with what I have heard from two single ended triode amps. I listened to Patricia Barber and was blown away, and every well-made recording that I listen to gives me things that I never knew existed before. Depth, breadth and placement. I like that.
So, I’m thinking to go down the path that I’ve read so many people on this website have followed: Trade up to something I like better.
My room is a limitation, and not negotiable it seems (WAF). It is an open floor plan house which is both nice and a curse. The speakers will be close to the wall, with only 6 feet between them. (Doorways on both sides.) The listening area is 10 feet away. The room is 18wide and two rooms deep with just a stone fireplace in between the two rooms, with a two-story ceiling and few reflective surfaces.
I expect to get a new amp, and if the amp of choice won’t drive them, trade out the Harbeth 30.2’s as well. Budget? I will search the used market and have targeted to get this done for $10,000 before considering value of equipment I will sell.
All thoughts and ideas appreciated!
