tube preamp with RB 1080 to smooth out the sound?

[Alex Tang]

I have a Adcom GFP 710 preamp, Rotel RB 1080 power amp, and B&W CDM 9NT speaker. After 2 weeks of listening, although the Adcom + Rotel is much much better than my Denon receiver, I found it is sometimes too bright, and kind of tiring or fatigue to listen to. Also, for the preamp, I can't get the volume right. It is either too low, or too high. At low volume, it sounds thin and small. Then I turn it up, it's like the VTEC engine kicks in that it sounds much better with good sound stage, but that's where it comes fatigue to hear to sometimes. So, I am looking for ways to improve my set up, and I heard the tube always produce smooth and warm sound, so, I am wondering, if using a tube preamp with my RB 1080 will produce good result. Does anyone has similar set up? Is it a good idea? If yes, which budget tube preamp would you recommend? If not, what would you recommend? Try another brand of SS preamp?

Thank you very much.

[hurin]

Start by watching this 'before' you buy expensive gadgets to improve audio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wjcvQ

It is more likely to be the acoustics of your room thats the problem. Is it square, small, does it have large glass vindows, are the walls made of brick or concrete.

[specialized]

I have a Adcom GFP 710 preamp, Rotel RB 1080 power amp, and B&W CDM 9NT speaker. After 2 weeks of listening, although the Adcom + Rotel is much much better than my Denon receiver, I found it is sometimes too bright, and kind of tiring or fatigue to listen to. Also, for the preamp, I can't get the volume right. It is either too low, or too high. At low volume, it sounds thin and small. Then I turn it up, it's like the VTEC engine kicks in that it sounds much better with good sound stage, but that's where it comes fatigue to hear to sometimes. So, I am looking for ways to improve my set up, and I heard the tube always produce smooth and warm sound, so, I am wondering, if using a tube preamp with my RB 1080 will produce good result. Does anyone has similar set up? Is it a good idea? If yes, which budget tube preamp would you recommend? If not, what would you recommend? Try another brand of SS preamp?

Thank you very much.

Im in room with a lot of glass surfaces, hard wood and no carpets

Im using Rotel RB-1080 biamped in the front ends and RB-1070 for the rears.
As preamp in Stereo i have good luck with McIntosh C2300. The sound is open very detailed and very musical. I got a lot in term of smoothing the sound when i find proper position for the speakers and also when i find proper cables and when i biamped.

Hope it helps u

Darko

[wkhanna]

The pre amp is the ‘heart’ of any system, and other than speakers, typically will have the greatest effect on the ‘signature’ or sound of your system. B&W’s are not usually known for being bright &nor is the 1080.

There is no arguing that room influence is significant, and if you have bare hardwood floors, little furniture and a square room it can cause sluggish boom in the low end and a harsh, tinny and fatiguing high end.

You can try some easy experiments before you start throwing your hard-earned $ at the issue. Move your speakers away from back and side walls, and play with different toe settings. Also, a rug in front of your speakers can make significant improvements for hard surface flooring.

Still, all the room treatments you can get will not cure an underachieving source or pre. I can say from my own experience, a decent quality tube pre can transform an otherwise mediocre system into one you don’t ever want to walk away from.

You may not necessarily need a tube unit, but simply incorporating a smoother SS pre may help with finding the ‘sound’ you are seeking.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

As always, IMHO, YMMV

[Alex Tang]

Just to keep you posted. I found a used Rotel RC 1070 at a decent price, so I decided to give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I don't think I will have problem selling it out.

Also, I order a Maverick Audio DAC with a tube buffer for my Mac to set up a music server, if the preamp is still too harsh, will try the tube buffer.

If that still doesn't work out, I found a local guy who built tube preamp and amp. I may swab both the preamp and amp to tube.

This is my plan.