New to tubes

Welcome to the club...the previous posters gave you accurate and good information....if you don't mind tube gear idiosyncracies then join us! I was a SS guy for many years and now would never consider going ss again.
Larry

Look into all the cayin units. Buy used. Yes, matching is important. If you go new, try to get a dealer to loan you a demo unit so you can check out compatibility right in your home. Primaluna Prologue are great units and has a larger dealer network, so the try before you buy may be easier.

Thanks to all for the great response and info!

I've been meaning to upgrade my trusty old Denon for some time now - I like the sound of my Monitor Audios, but they may be a touch bright on the top end. Originally considered SS seperates, but then I decided to go wholly different and give tubes a try - I love idiosyncracies, I have plenty of them myself. Also love tinkering, tweaking, and the occasional fiddling. Also have much preferred the 'thick' sound of my Fender tube guitar amps vs. various SS guitar amps so I look forward to the same experience in my audio setup.

Ok so I'm adding Cayin and SoundQuest to my list for research. Can't wait to join the club!

•Hi and welcome to the tube World
•To get your feet wet try used 1k units from AgoN.
•Many to choose from ( make the list - set priorities. That is start.)
•Prime Luna is a great starter. Consonance 15th Anniversary int-amp looks quaite good - by any standards.
•And lastly, SQ 88 is not made by Consonance.
It is a brand of SQ (sound quest) - it is also good choice for "beginers".
That SQ88 was my best buddy's first tubey-glowey amp. A year latter he went through CJ used (new $7000) and now settle down with Consonance Cyber 211 (around 5k new)mono-blocks and loves it.

Ones you get a lick .....that is it, you'll be hooked.
Just a warning pal.

Yes that is one thing I have noticed - there is a almost overwhelming sea of variety in tube manufacturers, tube types/characteristics, modifications/tweaks, etc. Lots to learn - I guess I'll just pick one to start and see what I like from there. I live in the NYC area so I figure I can demo a few things as well. I went to look at the offerings from Consonance and I noticed the Cyber 10 Multi Integrated SET amp - neato all in one option for my lossless-encoded music files along with class A operation to boot. Not sure if it's enough juice for my MA's though....