I'm looking for recommendations for a tubed player that has a bit of a tube sound (just a bit), compared to the others on the market. I already understand that if one wants a tubed sound in their system they really need tubed electronics and not to expect it from a player. I already have 2 tubed cd players, (Raysonic cd128/ modded Jolida JD 100). Used to have the Modwright Sony Platinum. I'm looking for a different player (Balanced) that is not quite as neutral and has a little warmth and a bit of the tubed sound. Do not like leanness or anemic bass, or rolled-off highs however. Like a full sound. I'm looking in the up to $2500 range (used). I suppose I would consider a solid state player if it just gets redbook right for my solid state integrated (Blue Circle). I've done plenty of research. It almost seems like an impossible task but you'd think there would be something out there that would get this done in the used market at $2500 or less. Thanks to all for your suggestions.
agree with tvad regarding tube cd player. i have achieved the presentation in my stereo system in spite of the digital front end. i am using an art audio preamp, which uses two 6sn7 tubes. it is currently under review.
if considering a lector cd player, i suggest the non oversampling lector, i.e., the original. my friend owns one. i have heard it mnay times, but not in my own system. there is one caution, namely the transport. my friend replaced his in about 4 years.
I have a GamuT that I find much more "musical' than my Raysonic 168 with Amperex PQ's. I have the CD-3 but was told by a former Gamut dealer that the Cd-1 is even more "musical" than the CD-3. I know nothing about it's reliability etc, there is a CD-1 for sale on AgoN presently well within your budget.
Thanks everyone for the dac suggestions. More thoughts on 1 box solutions are also welcome. I have always liked simplicity and minimalism when it comes to stereo. This is why over the past years I've had 2 systems involving seperates but many more integrated-based systems. I never had an interest in the complexity of adding a dac which means another box and then figuring out the power cord and cables (and or tubes) that will complement each other to achieve a sound I can live with. But, I realize in order to have what tubes provide, there are sacrifices that have to be made.
Lithojoe, I don't see the value to bash Tvad here. He provides many great contributions here. His observations on relative tube differences in the above post is an example of this. You could have contributed to the thread by sharing an example or two of a ss product that provides a "tube" sound.
As for a ss product achieving a tube sound, the problem with this approach is that once I choose such a product, I am stuck with the base sound. It may have some attributes that I seek with a tube product. But I can not alter this. I can not change the sound like I can with tube rolling. I can not even improve upon it if I like its fundamental sound. I am stuck with what the designer provided me.
If I want to trade off dynamic contrasts with a little more lush midrange or longer decays, I can change a tube. If I want a more extension on the trebles and am willing to give up extension in the bass, I can change a tube. And so on. The bottom line is, I can tune the sound to my own preferences. After living with tube products for 25+ years now, I am not ready to give up all the options available to me.
To stay on topic for the thread, my advice would be to stay with a transport and try as many tube DACs as one can. I have owned many tube DACs and some are very lush and 3D and others not all that impressive. Often times it is not the product but the effort to find tubes that take it to the level of performance that you seek. This is the point Tvad made in his last post here.
I owned the Electrocompaniet ECD1. It's a fairly good product, but it does not approach the "qualities" of the great tube DACs. The Classe DAC1 and Counterpoint DA-10 are much closer to the mark.
You might give the EAR Acute a listen. You can change the sound quality a bit by rolling the tubes. I liked the USA Amperex 7308s and Seimens CCas. Also has balanced outputs and analog volume control.
Foster, I had the AMR CD-77 and then wanted to try a less expensive digital player. I bought the Lector cdp7mk3 for just over 2k used and found it far more musical. The Lector had more tube bloom and resolution than the AMR. The Lector is also quite sensitive to tube selection. Bob
Well here we go again, Tvad the resident expert on sound in your hometown. More from the bumbling audio-x-pert and he may have reached his 3,000th bloviation on this site alone. One can get a tube sound from a solid state circuit, he just hasn't been able to hit it on the many, many, avenue's he has traveled to no end. Yet we all still can be entertained with his nice threads, if one has the time to waste.
Regarding the mhdt DACs, the Paradisea with stock GE tube is more of what you are looking for. I also have a NOS Tung Sol tube I have used with it. That tube is less tubey and more SS sounding. The sound of the Paradisea does seem to be quite sensitive to the tube used. That can be a good thing in terms of matching it well to different systems and tastes.
Not a player, but mhdt Paradisea tube DAC with stock GE tube provides gobs of lucious tubey midrange and harmonic richess in my system on all 2-way speaks I use.
The exception is the older OHM Ls which are 3 way bookshelf speaks that I have customized myself. These have more pronounced midrange to start. On these, the Paradisea combined with my ARC sp16 tube pre-amp can sound a bit shouty and I clearly prefer the SS mhdt Constantine.
Both work very well with both my OHM Walshs ( 5 and 100S3s).
Newbee, I suppose if I have to put it into words, (on the fly), I define "tube sound" as sonics with more air, natural timbre of instruments, and a degree of coloration (euphony).
I need lots of current and power for my Ohm Walsh 5000 speakers (the large Ohms) which are inefficient and require power and high current, to get their best, preferably a amplifier that doubles in power down from 8 to 4 ohms. For the speakers I have a tube amp is problematic.
Outside my price range I have yet to hear the AMR 77 cdp but I wonder about it. Mrtennis is partial to it.
I think that you should check out an Audio Note DAC that you could use with your player as a transport. I think that they are full and natural without being overtly tubey.
I think it would be interesting to hear from you exactly how you define 'tube sound'. I have 1 ss and 3 tubed units and I don't think its hard to detect the differences, including the contribution of the tubes BUT I also think it is a relatively minor contrubtion to what I refer to as the 'tube sound' to the whole system. In my view 'tube sound' cannot exist outside of the presence of an amp with tubed output, and once you have that, and once you have dialed that in, the selection of a tubed or ss digital front end becomes far less critical (My Wadia 302 works very well in fact).
FWIW I also have a Raysonic 128 and it is about as far from SS sound as you can get I think, but then I suppose with a lot of tubes available, including the stock tubes, you could produce a sound which had bright/edgy/glary high frequencies. Mine did initially.
Having a tubed cd player doesn't mean you will get a tubed sound. I have owned both tube and non tube cdps the most analog sounding cdp is my current Electrocompaniet EMC 1up and it has no tubes. IMO, listen and find what you like and don't dismiss just because it's tube free
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
