Tube preamp

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  • tboooe
    Senior Member
    • Jun 2005
    • 657

    Tube preamp

    Hi, I am beginning to get very intrigued with the idea of tubes. Initially I was looking at getting the MF x-10 V3. Now I am interested in tube preamps like the ones offered by Conrad Johnson. My problem is I have absolutely no experience with tubes. Are they difficult to deal with and maintain? Are they hard to replace?

    What are people's experience with tube preamps? What are the bood/bad points? Which brands should I consider? What things in general should I consider/be aware of when buying a tube preamp.

    Thanks in advance.
  • gostan
    Senior Member
    • May 2003
    • 445

    #2
    I do not have a tube preamp, although I have demoed some. My understanding is that the tubes need to be replaced after a certain # of hours and that the replacement of the tubes is quite simple. You can also experiment with different types of tubes which are available on line from places like the parts express, etc. and other online sources. You will find some threads about utlization of different type tubes (particularly on cd players) on the AVS forum. The tube preamps appear to be much warmer and less edgy for 2 channel listening.
    Stan
    Stan

    Comment

    • David Meek
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2000
      • 8938

      #3
      I'm generalizing with this first sentence. Tube components do tend to sound "warmer" than solid-state components but that varies greatly based on the design of the unit and the types of tubes used in it. For example, the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista components utilize a small mil-spec series of tubes that don't really have much of that signature mid-range bloom and are considered by many to be a fine, detailed, revealing component. You may not want to hear this (pun intended) but this is one area in which you almost HAVE TO audition extensively to determine what's right for your ears.

      Yes, tubes do wear out faster than solid-state components but they are owner-replacable 95% of the time. In many cases you can switch out types of tubes to alter the sound of the pre-amp or whatever your component is. Once you've put a new tube in (replacement or switch-out) you have to set the bias for that tube, the ease of which again is determined by the design of the unit. In some cases it's done automatically, in others you just turn a knob or screw until a light comes on, and it goes on up the complexity ladder from there. The expected life of a tube can vary from a few thousand hours to over a hundred-thousand (MF's mil-spec tubes again). Here again research is most important to make sure you get something you are comfortable with maintaining and paying for.

      Hope this helps. Best of luck, and keep us posted. :T

      P. S. Conrad-Johnson is one of the more respected firms out there and have a good overall reputation for quality - build, sound and customer relations.
      .

      David - Trigger-happy HTGuide Admin

      Comment

      • gostan
        Senior Member
        • May 2003
        • 445

        #4
        David:

        You are 100% correct when you state that you have to listen to the different tube preamps and cd players as there are a myriad of sounds out there-and prices!

        With your growing tube experience we may have to begin calling you David "TubeMan" Meek.

        Good weekend of listening-viewing to all (but get outside if you can)!

        Stan
        Stan

        Comment

        • Bob
          Senior Member
          • Jul 2000
          • 802

          #5
          The output tubes used in today's preamps have a very long lifespan. It very likely that you will sell or trade up your preamp before you would have to change tubes. Most are good for around 5,000 hours or more. They are easier to change out than screwing in a lightbulb and are not expensive. You do not have to bias preamp tubes, that is for amps.
          This is somewhat of a simplification but, dollar for dollar, you can usually purchase a better sounding preamp if it is tubes vs ss.

          Comment

          • tboooe
            Senior Member
            • Jun 2005
            • 657

            #6
            thanks for the input guys. What other manufactueres of tube preamps are there? Looks like I will be spending the next couple of weekends listening!! I am pretty excited and intrigued.

            Comment

            • gd
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2003
              • 583

              #7
              Originally posted by tboooe
              other manufactueres of tube preamps
              Cary
              Rogue
              Manley
              BAT (Balanced Audio Technologies)
              VAC (Vlave Amplification Company)

              None are cheap, but Cary, Rogue fall into the category of 'affordable'.

              Have heard these (in stores, at shows)... all very nice, but none has been overwhelming enough to tear me away from solid state... with the possible exception of the Manley.
              .
              greg (gd to you)
              .
              Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring
              production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.

              Frank Zappa

              Comment

              • Bam!
                Super Senior Member
                • Jan 2004
                • 2458

                #8
                ...I'll add to this that tubes can be somewhat more polite sounding. Right now I have managed to get the slam of SS and the texture, soundstage and resolution that even paired harmonics can deliver to the music, all together. It is a single ended tube amp(845)...(I know your are talking about pre amp, but you might want an amp too after the pre amp) Also, the beauty of tubes is you can alter the sound of your pre amp and/or amp just by changing tube types.

                While the life expectancy of tubes are ahorter than SS and they need warm up time, they are still pretty inexpensive to replace.
                Got a nice rack to show me ?

                Comment

                • David Meek
                  Moderator Emeritus
                  • Aug 2000
                  • 8938

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Bob
                  You do not have to bias preamp tubes
                  That's good to know - thanks Bob. Could you go into why amps do need biasing but preamps don't?

                  Hey, I learned something today! :
                  .

                  David - Trigger-happy HTGuide Admin

                  Comment

                  • Glen B
                    Super Senior Member
                    • Jul 2004
                    • 1106

                    #10
                    AVA - Audio By Van Alstine is an often forgotten manufacturer of affordable tube and solid state components. :T

                    AVA:http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipmen...rison_grid.htm


                    Comment

                    • gostan
                      Senior Member
                      • May 2003
                      • 445

                      #11
                      VTL makes some wonderful sounding tube preamps with the option to build in a phono preamp.
                      Stan

                      Comment

                      • Andrew M Ward
                        Senior Member
                        • Apr 2005
                        • 717

                        #12
                        Audio Research !!!

                        My favorite tube stuff is Audio Research.

                        Wonderfullll - Fantas-teeseemo :B

                        Comment

                        • tboooe
                          Senior Member
                          • Jun 2005
                          • 657

                          #13
                          awesome guys! i am going to try them all out. this is going to be fun. the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of getting a tube preamp and sticking with SS amps.

                          Comment

                          • Tarbaby
                            Junior Member
                            • Feb 2004
                            • 15

                            #14
                            Quicksilver Audio is another good company to look at, they are extremely musical sounding, affordable, and built to last for a long time. Their preamp is very warm sounding and intimate, slightly noisy, but I still love this thing. Quicksilver have been around for many years, Mike Sanders does not advertise and will not send out samples to reviewers. His products appeared in Stereophile a few times, but the reviewer always got loaner from a dealer never from Mike. This is how he keep his prices reasonable. If you need help with his components, Mike answers the phone and is very helpful. I'm not affiliated with Quicksilver Audio, just want to share my experiences with others.

                            Comment

                            • GregLett
                              Senior Member
                              • May 2005
                              • 753

                              #15
                              Check out Prima Luna. Great reviews on their amps. I purchased their
                              pre-amp, I love it.

                              High-fidelity music systems. Precision selected rare tubes. We treat your system like it's our own. This is Music Illuminated.
                              Greg

                              Comment

                              • TimRawson
                                Member
                                • Oct 2004
                                • 92

                                #16
                                I've tried some tubes... love what they bring out. On some music it's just so much better. However with some of my inexpensive dabbling, found that the top end lost a little. Hope to find a tube preamp that adds the body without the penalty.

                                Comment

                                • NMyTree
                                  Senior Member
                                  • May 2004
                                  • 520

                                  #17
                                  You may want to look at Eastern Electric's Minimax line. Real nice components at a reasonable price.

                                  Tony

                                  Comment

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