2. amps-preamps
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To tube, or not to tube, that is the question

Falling head first into the hi-fi stratosphere. Read some of your posts that you should start with your speakers first then select the appropriate amp. So, I'm picking up my "new to me" Totems Sttaffs (spelled correctly don't you know) tomorrow and I am anticipating that my good old 30 year old Pioneer SA 6800 amp just ain't going to cut it any more. I should get a new amp.

I have an opportunity to purchase an Audiolab 8000S integrated amp to power the Sttafs. I really don't know if the Audiolab is the amp for these speakers but the price is right. I'm also thinking that all this chat about tubes should mean that it might be worth a try, The 8000S can act as a power amp if I hook it up to a tubed pre-amp later when I get more bucks. Or maybe I should forgo the ss integrated amp entirely and jump both feet into the tube world with either a tube integrated or a hybid. Keep in mind, I have quite an eclectic taste in music, mostly centering around electronic jazz and instrumental classical pieces, guitar acoustical renditions, vocal centered ballad material and the occassional heavy metal head banging rants. And I do have a limited budget. No Pathos amps for me. I'd be REALLY glad if I could pull this off under $500 (Do I hear the word "China"?). Would I be throwing good money to bad starting my tube journey with the 8000S? Can any amp fill this void?

I don't want to hear "Why did you get the Sttafs?" because I just did. I really liked them in the shop and I think they will be great in my home. I would like to know if reasonably priced tube amps can work with the Sttafs and if not, well, what do you suggest?

Thanks ahead for any input.
djh

Showing 2 responses by bdgregory

bdgregory
1,726 posts
 
First - no need to defend choosing the Sttafs. They're fantastic. I had Sttafs for ~ 2 years, and when upgraded to Mani-2s I still hated to part with the Staffs. Only after watching them collect dust did I sell them. Choosing speakers first then power is IMHO best.

You didn't mention your room size, and this may be important in considering the amp. The Sttafs will do better in a smaller room, and if your room isn't cavernous I think a ~30 wpc amp will do nicely. I normally powered mine with a SS amps, and experimented with many rated from 80 w/c to 200, but when I upgraded, I had them connected for a while to a vintage Fisher integrated rated at 30 w/c and was amazed how well the combo worked, and sounded. This was in a room that's 16x16 with low ceilings. It was plenty loud, but this is a relative statement. If you heard the Sttafs before your purchase, you must have been satisfied with the volume, but even with 250 w/c they DO NOT play loud in the sense hard rock fans define it. Aside from this I found them easy to drive - they liked any amp I connected them to.

If your room is modest size, you should do fine with the ~32 w/c amps recommended above, but if larger you may want to go with something a little more powerful (~70+ w/c).
bdgregory
1,726 posts
 
djh, if you're serious about a tube amp and can find the $ for the TAD, or a similar amp with volume control w/i your budget, here's an option: Use your Pioneer as a switch for your CD, Tuner, Phono. Connect the power amp to the Tape output of the Pioneer, and use the volume control on the power amp.

This is hardly an ideal rig, but accomplishes a couple of things -
1) bypasses much the preamp section of the pioneer sending the cleanest output to the amp. It will sound very nice.
2) gets you a better amp for your budget, and a better upgrade platform when you're ready to go to a separate preamp.

The other option to consider is a tube preamp with a SS power amp. You may be able to find a combination used in your budget range.

Finally - there's a lot of great used SS gear that may kill anything tube in this price range, and give you a very satisfying rig until you're ready for the next step. You may be able to get most of your investment back on resale that way. Also, you'll increase your options if you consider separate pre & power amps in addition to integrated amps
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