Preamp tubes should not restrict you in choosing an integrated amp!
Small signal tubes with numbers like 12AX7, 12AU7, and 6922, and rectifier tubes like 5AR4 may go 10,000 hours. So you get years and years of enjoyment.
A decent integrated amp under 2K ...
I'm looking for an INTEGRATED AMP. My speakers are Altec 620A (100 db efficiency) and my listening room is 14 x 21. I mainly listen to digital files from my DAC (Metrum) but sometimes I feel less lazy and put on a vinyl on my Garrard. I don't need a phono stage, I use the one from another integrated amplifier (Spendor D40). Here's my shortlist:
1) Belles Aria Integrated (slightly powerful for my needs)
2) Croft phono integrated (since I don't need a phono stage, I think it's a shame to burn tubes for nothing)
3) Rogue Sphinx V3 (too powerful for my needs)
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS: I can live with tubes but only in the PREAMP section and I try to avoid Class A due to the heat. I'm open to Class D (proof: the Rogue) but the choice is limited and these devices come with a bunch of stuff I don't need. I rather spend my $ where it will make a difference.
regards
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OP, well, I didn’t read your full post, so I missed ’no tubes in output stage’, I was ready to get my butt outta this chair, I just wanted to let you know how terrific the Cayin sounds in case you didn’t know. IMO it’s a terrific value and one of the best sounding amps I have heard, sure glad I tried it. people give me contrarian advice, I do the same, so no offence, but with those efficient speakers, and modern integrated tube amps with easy and safe bias meters, I have to ask: Is it possible you are limiting the ’sound’, what it’s all about, for practical considerations? Based on past experiences when you perhaps knew less, had too much power/heat .... IOW, things are different with your current setup. Your speakers will easily fill the space with a 25 wpc amp, that ain’t too much heat, tubes or SS. Tubes can last 10,000 hrs, for me that’s around 14 years. We can blow em, and we all want quad matched, but even so, it’s not a big deal. Not having confidence about your tubes IS a big deal, pre or amp stage, which is why I always recommend you get a simple inexpensive tube tester. You test what you buy, check annually, check if problem suspected, most often get reassured it ain’t the tubes, ... It’s not that your wrong, but you might not be right!
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@elliottbnewcombjr : of course, sometimes it can be worth coming up with proposals going against what someone wants, as long as you understand the needs of that person, which is not your case. I started a discussion on a similar topic last year ... At the time, I didn’t want any tube or class D ... as you can see, I’ve come a long way since ... all this to tell you that I have thought long and hard about the characteristics of my next amp and that I do not intend to buy myself a tube amp ...
yes of course ... it’s called making choices. Any sound system, even very high-end ones, are just compromises ... You just have to go to a concert hall to find out ... the trick is to come up with a compromise that satisfies us ... for my part, I decided to drop tubes for RATIONAL reasons ... my amplifier is on all day, in the summer it gets very hot in my place and I have no air conditioning ... you can make all the proposals you want, if they do not meet my needs, I will not take them into account ... |
@gwangler15 : just received Glen Croft's answer :
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