Too many tubes?

today's tube designs do not have the classic, euphonic, highly colored sound of tubes.

having owned the bat vk d5 cd player, i would suggest you avoid this player. it may burn your ears. perhaps if you remove the metal oil filled caps, you'll be ok.

given the intent of most designers to produce low-distortion tube products, there is no need to be concerned with owning tube electronics.

the only issue is tube replacement. if you seek nos tubes, you may incur a significant expense, if you replace a number of tubes.

My system is ALL TUBES. Preamp, amps, DAC AND NOW CDP.
I also have Rega Apollo CDP which is great. Synergy is very important. And it is something I discover not to long ago. In the past I have heard about it but did not quite get it.
I never doubt its importance, just did not realize how much?
It is all about - what are You looking for in you system.
First thing in my opinion would be to evaluate you system's strong and weak points and then try to compensate with appropriate component. Also room itself may play a big role in the way your system interacts within its acoustic properties.

I personally think that you CAN have too many tubes in the signal path, especially if they are capacitor coupled. As I've added more tubes to my systems, they've always become softer-sounding and more vague, and have lost detail.

I used to use the highly-rated Monarchy Audio M24 tube DAC in my system (direct-DAC outputs with Siemens E88CC gold-pin premium tubes), and that worked pretty well. But it was still a trade off in transient speed and bass articulation and extension. I preferred the Monarchy M24 on recordings with brass instruments, and the Apollo sans M24 for recordings using stringed instruments because it captured the transient speed of the strings better.

Then I obtained an exceptionally good 6SN7 prototype line stage and I have to say it is the best sounding tube preamp I've heard anytime in recent memory. So I sold the Monarchy M24 and run the Apollo's analog outputs straight into the new tube preamp. This provides the best overall results I've heard in my system. It sounds like a magnificent tube system, just from going through one dual-triode tube, and that's how I like it best.

I think it may lose a tiny amount of transient snap/impact directly compared to an all solid-state signal path, but what it does to capture the beautiful harmonic portraits of acoustic instruments more than makes up for that.

I'd concentrate more on getting the best CD player for your tastes, instead of worrying if it is tube or solid state. I've heard good and less good CD players of both persuasions.

While many components have balanced outputs they are not truly blaanced. My Audio Aero Capitole is not balanced although I use bot balanced and unbalanced outputs to service two rooms in my house.

If you want truly balanced I am unfamiliar with a Cd player that will fit. I am sure others hereabouts will have suggestions; beware most balanced outputs....if that really means a lot to you. It is not that using balanced outputs from an unbalanced unit is bad. it is just that they had to add a bit more circuits to get it there.

I've had lots of gear and heard lots of systems and feel that you can't have enough tubes really. Some of the most transparent and dynamic systems I have heard have been all tube, from source to amp. It is all about system synergy - not the design of each component. If I were you, I would go for the BAT cd player.

Arthur

Great choices...

If you have so many tubes in your system I think it is better to mate it with a solid state cd player. There is nothing more to gain by adding more tubes. Just mudding things up. Definetely solid state.

i would go fully balance. more detail less noise