2. analog
  3. 1174275589

tubes and analog

I just "upgraded" from a Mac SS integrated to a Prima luna dialogue 2 tube amp. The reason that I changed amps was that i assumed that the tube amp would be a better match for my Zu Druid speakers. The amp change was a big improvment for listening through my CDP....but not so when listening to my Rega P9. I had to switch to my spare SS phono stage (Graham slee) to get it to sound right. I was using a tube phono (AES) with my Mac. In Short, my tube amp with SS phono stage is not really an upgrade from my Mac with Tube phono stage. My question is.....should i consider a further upgrade to a better tube phono pre or is it simply that a change from SS to Tube amp is more "pronounced" in digital playback?
csmithbarc

Showing 2 responses by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Here is the post that some of you have been waiting for...
Raul did indeed audition Atma-Sphere gear at my home during his latest "American Tour", discussed elsewhere.

Raul did witness a tube failure in one of my MA1 amps; two tubes went down. Unfortunately for me, the amps were purchased second-hand and came with improper 6 1/4amp fuses instead of the recommended 5amp fuses. Additionally, a few of the tubes in the amp were old Ebay-purchased RCAs vs. the recommended Russian 6AS7s. The bad fuses allowed a DC surge to take down a woofer.

I've since replaced the woofer, the fuses, and the two bad tubes. In the interim, one other output tube failed(remember that this is a Mark 2.II amp a number of years old). The proper fuses worked correctly, and no speaker or amp damage occurred.
Therefore, the comment, "The amp blew up", or "the amp damaged the speaker" is a distortion of the true cause.
Given that Raul left town before I discovered the wrong fuses were in the amps, it's hard to blame him for concluding what he did, however I felt it necessary to clarify in Atma-Sphere's defense. As I type, I'm happily listening to Rob Wasserman's blistering bass work through my happy Atma-Sphere amps.
Perhaps we can all get back to the music now...Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Yes, Mab33 and Carlbecker, I think you guys have summed it up nicely. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect a used pair of well-cared for amps, carefully packed, sold to me w/extra driver tubes, etc. would come to me loaded with the wrong valued fuses.
Docsavage, I think you are being a bit harsh on Raul, as he drew a reasonable conclusion from what he witnessed. If Ralph hadn't later mentioned to me the idea of confirming fuse value, I might not have caught it for a while.
I apologize to the original poster for contributing to driving this thread further off track! Cheers,
Spencer
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