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Tube Curious

Hello fellow forum members. I've owned a Simaudio Moon I-5 for a liitle over a year and just two weeks ago also acquired an Electrocompaniet ECI-3. My small system also consists of a Theta Pearl transport, Bel Canto DAC 1.1, ProAc Tablette 50 Signatures and an NHT SW3P sub.

I've been having a great time comparing these two integrateds, each has its own strengths and in certain ways are strangely similar. Both produce very similar soundstages which are wide and fairly deep. Surprisingly, the ECI-3 is almost as dynamic as the I-5. The differences are in the extremes. The I-5 is more extended on top and recreates top hats and cymbals with more realism. The ECI-3 has much more controlled and powerful bass. In certain vocal and instrumental extremes the I-5 can sound glassy, whereas the ECI-3 will handle the same passage much more smoothly. The ECI-3 tames bright recordings. The I-5 brings life to dull ones.

I'm having such a tough time picking one over the other that I thought up a kooky idea. What if I were to keep the I-5 which I believe is more transparent and has a more appealing design to me, and buy a tube amp. Something I could hookup to the I-5 when I have the urge. I've never owned a tube amp and have always been wary of the added complexity of tube rolling and replacing tubes when they go out.

Given my associated equipment and my strange mood swings would any of the following candidates make good choices as a nice alternate? Sonic Frontiers Power 1 or 2. BAT VK-60. Rogue 88. Or even some low powered SETs. From the specs I've checked it doesn't seem like I'll run into any impedance matching problems using the I-5 as a preamp with these amps. These days I tend to favor jazz instrumentals and female vocals, but occasionally have the urge to boogie a little. My room is only 12' x 14', and both integrateds play quite loud in it.

Forgive me for what may be a basic or oddball question, but I wanted to tap the knowleadge of the forum before making any rash purchases. Thanks!
gunbei

Showing 2 responses by abecollins

abecollins
219 posts
 
Dweller, ARC charges four times as much for their 6550 tubes . The same brand of 8 matched 6550's can be had for about $240 w/o even shopping for best price.

2000 hours tube life divided by 9-hours of listening per week = 222 weeks, divided by 52 weeks in a year = more than 4 years of tube life. $240 divided by 4.25 years is less than $60 per year in tube cost. And this only applies to the power tubes as the small tubes and preamp tubes last much longer.

Now if you leave the tube amp on for long extended periods without ever turning it off (spewing out background music all day long, every day), that might be costly. That's why I have a cheap SS receiver to satisfy my need for constant background noise. ;-)
abecollins
219 posts
 
Streetdaddy, I'm curious about your BAT + Avalon setup. I listened to a pair of rather large Avalon speakers (don't recall the model) driven by a Conrad-Johnson Premier 11a 70w/ch tube amp in a dealer show room. I didn't think it was a good match. It seemed constrained, lacking bass, and sounded like the music had a sheet over it. I suspect the Avalon's needed more power. Is this what you're hearing with your current setup? I brought the CJ Premier 11a home to try with my smaller Thiel CS 1.5's and they matched very nicely.
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