I went from transistors to FETS to vacuum tubes and I now have a mix of both. My first vacuum tube preamp was the Dynaco, my power amps were Conrad Johnson's; now everything is CJ. The sound is different and you will have to decide which you prefer, it is not an absolute. I did find that moving to vacuum tubes meant I didn't leave the stereo running 18 hours a day, like I did with FETS or transistors. My home theater does the 18 hour music fills the house job while the CJ are for personal listening. Also keep in mind, it is not just the power consumption, which is like running a toaster when you turn the power switch on. Tubes have a finite lifespan and you should look at then as a phono cartridge. You know when you buy it, it won't last forever and at some point, you will spring for a new cartridge. It won't be as expensive as your Hana, but your pocket book will feel the drainage when you spring for new tubes. It takes my system about 100 hours or so to become, what I call, "steady state, vacuum tube sound". Before that, it is a little louder and brighter.
WILL IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
My system consists of the following
Integrated Amp. - Hegel H160
Speakers – Fritz Carbon 7
Dac – Denafrips Venus II
Server- Innous Zenith MK3
Turntable – Rega RP8
Cartridge- Hana ML
Phono Pre – Icon Audio PS1 MKII
Power Conditioner – Puritan PSM156
I stream most of my music, listen to everything from 60’s rock to blues and Jazz. My system as it currently exists sounds pretty good. My wife thinks it sound great. My main complaint with the existing system is it is still a little bright and I do experience some listener fatigue.
I am considering another upgrade. I have always had solid state integrated amplifiers. I am considering tube integrated amplifiers. My budget is 7 to 10K. If you have gone from SS to Tube, what did you buy? What was the most striking difference out of the box and 300 hours in? Did you keep the speakers you had?
I am not completely sure that a tube amp. is what my system needs. I thought speakers could also make a difference. So, I am considering adding Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene to my current system. If anyone would like to give me their impression of them I would greatly appreciate it. I have read that they pair well with Hegel Amps.
I have had the Carbon7’s since 2013. I like them a lot. I had also purchased Fritz’s Carrera 7Be. I sold them because I did not like beryllium tweeters, I thought I would, but I did not. BTW Fritz is a class act.
Showing 2 responses by spatialking
@immatthewj I use Blue Jeans Cables and home brew speaker cables. My speakers are Shahinian Diapasons and two Double Eagle Subwoofers, giving me two subs per channel. I mounted them on two steel stands filled with lead shot. As I said, the tube sound is a little compressed and a little bright with new tubes in the CJ Premier Fives @ 200W/ch, but after 75 to 100 hours or so, they mellow right out and sound excellent. They do last a long time, at least the way I use them. I have lived with the Diapasons & Double Eagle combination now for over 40 years, although they have had factory upgrades along the way. They are the only speakers I found I can live with day after day and never tire of hearing them. I can't say that of other speakers I have owned or heard. While we are on the subject of equipment - my main preamp is the CJ, I also have a revamped Spatial TVA-2, the last model they made but never made it into production, a Parasound preamp, and a preamp of my own design. I was on Spatial's Technical Staff, so everything they designed had my hands in it, which is why I have one. I have two other amplifiers, a four channel Marantz Class D (450 W/ch into the subwoofer impedance) for use on the subs, and another Parasound 2275 #2 that I will soon replace the Marantz unit with. I only have one of those, so picking up another one is next on the list. |