Tube Amps and Cabling

Try a tube pre with a solid state amp this combo works very well together.

VAC Sigma 160i & Joseph Audio Pulsar should be an outstanding combo. I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on any VAC integrated. If funds are an issue, you should be able to find a used VAC Avatar, Avatar SE or Super for less than $4K.

Tube amps typically are more sensitive to things like speaker cable length than ss amps. On the other hand some ss amps might be more sensitive with unusual speaker cables like Alpha-Core Goertz.

Pdreher, Rrog and Mechans,
Thank you very much for your comments. They are most helpful.

Pdreher,
I am looking at the VAC Sigma 160i. I have Joseph Audio Pulsar monitors. I have read they are a good match with VAC amplifiers.

Mechans is correct. I may have overstated the impact of simply moving from solid state to tubes in that a well designed solid state amp will likely sound better than a poorly designed tube amp. However, if you do end up going with a VAC integrated, I'm confident it should be an upgrade from most if not all comparably priced solid state integrateds.

What speakers do you intend to use and which VAC integrated would you pair them with?

I have found that tube amps do not do well with a heavy gage cable.16 or 14 gage is best.

To restate Pdeher's comment any cable you appreciate now "of similar and reasonable length" will work fine with your tube set up. When I finally gave up using SS in my system I used the same cables I always had in place when switching to tubes. The sound was great and I became a tube convert no new cables needed.

"Just moving from a solid state amp to tubes will have a sizeable & favorable impact on sound quality, much more so than a change in cables."

This all depends on the speaker being used and your personal taste.

There is always the possibility a different cable will sound better, but the only real concern in going from solid state to tubes is your speaker cable length. Keep it short and efficient for tube amplifiers.

Any decent cables will be fine. Just moving from a solid state amp to tubes will have a sizeable & favorable impact on sound quality, much more so than a change in cables.