Should I get a new amp?

Great feedback from everyone. Thanks!

There have been a couple of references to Focal's really benefitting from Tube Amps. My problem is that I have never heard a tube amp, and I'm not sure there are any dealers around here that sell them seeing as SS has pretty much taken over the mainstream.

Having said this, I'm now very curious to dig further into the possibility of going the Tube route. This raises a few new questions:

1. I understand that tube amps power is "measured" differently than SS. I know at the end of the day a watt is a watt, but what type of Tube wattage should I target for these 1027be's?

2. What kind of maintenance is required for tube amps? Is "biasing" an involved process? Is it something I can do myself or do I need to send it out to have this done? Are tube replacements easy?

3. I'm a digital guy, not vinyl, with no plans to change in the near future. Does Digital benefit from tubes as much as analog?

4. How important would it be to get a tube-based preamp if I end up going with a tube-based amp? I'm in the market for both so I figure I'd rather find this out now than after I purchase one or the other.

5. The 1027's have the Berrylium tweeter which obviously puts emphasis on the highs. It seems to me that a lot of the SS amps over-exxagerate the highs and I wonder if tubes do a better job of keeping them "less harsh". In essence, is the berrylium tweeter a good match to tube equipment?

As always, thanks for all the great feedback.

-Ben

Saki70: Thanks for the feedback. You're actually the second person to recommend the Primaluna Prologue 2, but my concern is that it's relatively moderate power rating contradicts what many others have said in this thread suggesting that I need a minimum of 100wpc tube power to push these speakers based on the wide impedance swings.

Since I'm new to tubes, I guess I just need a little clarification.

Thanks,

-Ben

Pubul57: My budget is $1,500, but if going tubes would require a tube pre as well to fully experience the sound, that $1,500 would have to cover both. As such, an integrated would likely be better suited to my budget.

Having said this, I want to make sure that I'm not making overall quality concessions simply to go the "tube" route. If I need a higher-end tube amp to be able to push these 1027be's properly and it's out of my budget, I don't want to settle for an inferior tube just for the sake of going to tubes.

I just wonder where the crossover point is between the sound difference vs affordability when working within my specific budget range and comparing Tube to SS.

There is a Llano Trinity 200 Tube amp for sale on A-Gon right now that's in my budget. They are 200wpc and I've heard great things about Llano amps, but never heard one myself. Any opinions/thoughts on this amp pushing these 1027be's? It also seems to cover the high-current characteristic. May this be my perfect amp given the circumstances?

Any/all opinions welcome.

Blindjim: Very interesting points. I do use a sub and while I was trying to avoid using it for music listening, I just don't think it's going to happen given all my positional constraints (narrow room, doubling as HT, etc).

To me, it's much more important that the 1027's capture from mid-bass on up as accurately as possible and I'm not so worried about that bottom end slam. For now, I'm perfectly OK with letting my sub handle from 80hz and below.

Forive my ingnorance, but what exactly is 'tube rolling'? I hear the term all the time but never actually understood what it meant.

Saki70: My listening room is 11Wx20Lx7.5H. The back end of the room, however, is open to the rest of my basement so there is no wall. THe speakers are positioned at the end WITH the wall behind them, firing down the long walls toward the open space. I sit about 7-8' off the speakers.

The speakers are only about 18" off the side walls and 12" off the back walls becuase there is a projection screen on the wall behind them. Acoustic panels are at the first reflections for my listening chair on walls and ceiling. Floor is low-profile carpet over concrete. The back of the room is wrapped by 3 microfiber couches which do a good job of high-frequency absorbtion in the back, but they are all behind my listening chair.

I listen to some classic rock, but probably more folk, acoustic, blues and jazz than anything. I have somewhat of an addiction for ultra smooth female vocals, regardless of genre. Not so much in the way of classical/orchestral.

I don't listen to them at ear-bleeding loud levels. I would say probably on average between 75-85db tops (not factoring in dynamic peaks).

Thanks Saki70. My soundstaging is actually excellent already. Many well-mixed tracks do seemingly extend beyond both the side walls and the back wall. I do have them toed in and sit in an equilateral triangle, but I'm always open for moving around a bit...it's fun :-)

It's more the smooth mids and vocals that I crave with this upgrade than anything. And from the sound of it, the tubes do that better than SS which is what caught my attention.

Thanks to everyone for all their advice. I managed to free up some additional funds and went with the hybrid integrated Musical Fidelity KW500. With it's Tube pre-stage and solid state amp, I'm hoping to get the best of both worlds while having more than ample power/current to control and push the Focals.

The reviews seem favorable so time will tell. Thanks to everyone who steered me toward introducing Tubes into my system (even if it's only in the pre-stage).