Help needed - Tube amplifiers

[venkatcr]

is this true?

Hari, you bring Peter Aczel into discussions, and it is like opening up a huge bucket of worms. Peter has extremely vociferous supporters as well as extremely vociferous and violent enemies.

Read through all of Audio Critic articles and make your own conclusion. Some of what he says will sound very logical and sensible, but then nothing is logical in audio. Everything is subjective and is controlled by your heart, and brains that are fed with a lot of information by your ears.

Have fun.

Cheers

 

[iamharishkm]

Hari, you bring Peter Aczel into discussions, and it is like opening up a huge bucket of worms. Peter has extremely vociferous supporters as well as extremely vociferous and violent enemies.

Read through all of Audio Critic articles and make your own conclusion. Some of what he says will sound very logical and sensible, but then nothing is logical in audio. Everything is subjective and is controlled by your heart, and brains that are fed with a lot of information by your ears.

Have fun.

Cheers

i also wish so.. because even without hearing i fell in love with tube amps.. dont know exactly why though

 

[suri]

IMHO - peter aczel is an old man - his tissues and senses hardened by age and the passing of years - sensitivity is lost, and the the experience of others is given short shrift.-

forget this old man - rely on your senses!

 

[stevieboy]

guys.. please share your experience on 'Michael Jackson kind of' music on valve amps.. preferable on a lyrita amp.

i can go one better and play 'thriller' for you when you drop in. also available, bee gees, deep purple, the doors, 'grease', beatles, queen and other 70s rock and pop. all above mentioned on vinyl. you have to listen to a tube amp mated with a speakers built for it. if you get a tube amp and buy a speaker that does not allow it to perform well eg very low sensitivity you're in for trouble.

regards

 

[iamharishkm]

i can go one better and play 'thriller' for you when you drop in. also available, bee gees, deep purple, the doors, 'grease', beatles, queen and other 70s rock and pop. all above mentioned on vinyl. you have to listen to a tube amp mated with a speakers built for it. if you get a tube amp and buy a speaker that does not allow it to perform well eg very low sensitivity you're in for trouble.

regards

Sounds nice .. but vinyl.. i have not even touched it in my life.. and also till now i dont have a plan to get 'vinyl player' (or whatever it is called) or a vinyl collection...

but waiting to hear your 'sound' setup.. will be a totally new experience for me

 

[maniac_2004]

i can go one better and play 'thriller' for you when you drop in. also available, bee gees, deep purple, the doors, 'grease', beatles, queen and other 70s rock and pop. all above mentioned on vinyl. you have to listen to a tube amp mated with a speakers built for it. if you get a tube amp and buy a speaker that does not allow it to perform well eg very low sensitivity you're in for trouble.

regards

what will be the best ( VFM ) setup of a tube amp and speakers ? And has the source to be vinyl strictly ? Are there speakers which can double up as speakers to solid state amps ?

 

[stevieboy]

what will be the best ( VFM ) setup of a tube amp and speakers ? And has the source to be vinyl strictly ? Are there speakers which can double up as speakers to solid state amps ?

hi maniac,

no the source does not have to vinyl. its a personal preference.

a vfm tube set up is what viren offers, SET amps in the 45k and 22k range paired with either his single driver speakers round 38k or speakers with high sensitivity, two drivers preferable and simple crossovers. speakers like mordaunt short ms 901 bookshelves or epos 12 bookshelves.

yes the above speakers can be used with solid state amps.

regards

 

[iamharishkm]

Friends... i also came to know about this indian brand 'Starcaudio'

valve amplifier india el 34

Are they good? any experiences?

 

[afg]

Hi, I have owned a tube amp (Cayin A88T) for the last 4 years now and I love the sound - mellow, rich but yet very detailed

I have to say that a well designed tube amp will not roll off the highs. I have heard rock (Scorpions, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits etc both on LPs and CDs), pop (Michael Jackson, Michael Learns to Rock, a lot of compiliations etc) on my amp and I have not experiened any truncated highs. In fact, the highs sound detailed and sweet (unless the recording is bad, then it sounds bad but yet listenable)

The tube amps of the 70's could have a high-end roll-off problem but I think the latest generation tube amps (I have heard the Jadis, Consonance so far) do not if a good tube is used - specially if it is a KT88 based amp. A KT88 based tube amp is more dynamic compared to a EL34, but the latter has great mids which I love.

Also, all the amps I have heard so far are push-pulls. I have not heard a SET amp as yet and I would love to do so but I am sure a well designed one with the right speakers will not roll-off the highs.

Tube amps, however, have a different problem. Bass grip on dynamic symphonies is missing unless horn speakers are used. Biasing is also a pain and a bit risky if one has to open the amp cover to do it (though it is quite easy to do). Then you have failing tubes - operating expenses are high. Going tubes is therefore a commitment but one is welll rewarded with great sound

 

[iamharishkm]

Hi, I have owned a tube amp (Cayin A88T) for the last 4 years now and I love the sound - mellow, rich but yet very detailed

Hey,, how much the Cayin A88T costs? Is it available in Bangalore?

 

[stevieboy]

Friends... i also came to know about this indian brand 'Starcaudio'

valve amplifier india el 34

Are they good? any experiences?

yes have heard of them not yet visited them for an audition. their prices are almost double that of lyrita last time i checked

you'll need to research two things. one is tube names eg el84, el34, 2a3, 45, kt88, etc. all these tubes have a typical signature sound and different brands within each type have a reputation of their own. this is the first thing.

the other thing is the type of amp ie SET or push pull. SET amps are generally lower powered than push pull but typically sound more immediate (well at least to me ). you can research the qualities of a SET versus push pull amp to find out more.

regards

 

[iamharishkm]

yes have heard of them not yet visited them for an audition. their prices are almost double that of lyrita last time i checked

you'll need to research two things. one is tube names eg el84, el34, 2a3, 45, kt88, etc. all these tubes have a typical signature sound and different brands within each type have a reputation of their own. this is the first thing.

the other thing is the type of amp ie SET or push pull. SET amps are generally lower powered than push pull but typically sound more immediate (well at least to me ). you can research the qualities of a SET versus push pull amp to find out more.

regards

Yes... have read somewhere that SET tubes are better. And the tube names... i need to start research on it

And before we meet at your place, i will try to audition (hear) Starc audio valve amps.

 

[afg]

Hey,, how much the Cayin A88T costs? Is it available in Bangalore?

Soundsmiths from Mumbai were the dealers of Cayin in Mumbai but they have stopped its dealership sometime back. Don't know if there are any other dealers in India

 

[iamharishkm]

Hi all,

at last heard demo on tube/valve amps.
what should i say... i felt like.. first time i am hearing pure music since i was born in this earth

by the way i auditioned it in starc audio koramangala. The experience was AWSOME!

those were push pull amps.. i am waiting to see some SET amps at Steves place .. even starc guy, Mr Rajesh Nair, said SETs are more musical.

 

[keith_correa]

Hi all,

at last heard demo on tube/valve amps.
what should i say... i felt like.. first time i am hearing pure music since i was born in this earth

by the way i auditioned it in starc audio koramangala. The experience was AWSOME!

those were push pull amps.. i am waiting to see some SET amps at Steves place .. even starc guy, Mr Rajesh Nair, said SETs are more musical.

What speaker/s were they paired with during the audition?

 

[iamharishkm]

It was dynaudio.. some basic floorstanders.. Also he paired it with some single driver high sensitivity speakers (sorry i dont remember the name but something looking like this http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11015479/Back_Loaded_Horn_Speaker.jpg ).. it was more clear but some how i felt the dynaudio is best..

oh my god.. even now those instruments, what i have heard there, are behind me..