Tube Stuff?

[JBLROCKS]

I am interested in getting into "tube equipment" but I dont know much about it.
Any input appreciated.

[SUPERBEE]

I am interested in getting into "tube equipment" but I dont know much about it.
Any input appreciated.

My preference is vintage McIntosh. I am partial to the MC75 mono blocks. You will need a good tube pre-amp as well. The McIntosh C20, C22, And the MX110 are all very good.

Not only do these gems sound warm and wonderful. They look BITCHIN and seem to hold or go up in value.

I would suggest listening to as many tube systems as you can and purchasing what sounds best to you. Thats what I did and it was the best money I ever spent.

[Ian Mackenzie]

What speakers are you running?

That will sginificantly narrow you options. Make sure you play it on your system before you buy.

The Mac's are nice, so are the Cary's and Conrad Johnsons. There is a growing trickle of impressive stuff coming out the China too and the quality appears reasonable. Buy new or only from a friend you struck and stay away from the Ebay junk...Quads, re built Mullards and Dynaco's.

Once you enter tubes, it becomes a tweakers paradise and a pure tasters delight. Switching from Pentode to Triode etc.

A half way house might be some of the AR's, fet/tube, they are also impressive.

Ian

[spkrman57]

I like the option of both types of amplification, Solid state for summer time when the AC is already fighting the heat/humidity, and in winter time I like my little space heaters"!

I use a group of tube amps for my 97db/watt 2-ways. I have a MC-240 for "CRANKING", and then I opt for either my Almorro A205 (6BQ5 SEP), Norh SE-9 (EL34 SEP), and for total finesse and all out cool amp, Yamamoto (45 SET). The Yamamoto at a screaming 1.8 watts/chnl is a real sleeper.

Most folks would never consider 2 watts to make much impact and deliver enough power to impress with only 97db/watt. With my Edgarhorns running off 2 watt/chnl the PE Titanic 12 powered sub shut down(thermally) trying to keep up. It is equipped with a 250 watt amp, but with a 91db driver shows how important high efficiency really is.

I just put together a new crossover with all new parts and I am using a repaired/modded Sansui AU-7900 (75 watt/chnl) SS integrated amp. While the SS amp will play with much more "slam and dynamics", I miss the smooth, "laid-back" sound of my tube gear. Once I get some more hours on the crossover, I will revert back to my tube gear again.

A lot of what your requirements are music wise, the efficiency of your speakers, and what kind of tube amp you use(I am partial to "single-ended" type tube amps) will determine if tube gear is right for you.

If you can visit someone with a similiar system who has tubes already, you can judge for yourself. I for one can live with 2 watt/chnl and 97 db. If I need more, I will fetch out one of my other more powerful amps to play.

Ron

[lodoc]

Since this a general question on tube amps...
I have been running a MC 240 for several years in my shop. The certified MacIntosh technician that went thru this amp and brought it back to life said in gereral just leave it on 24/7. It's been on for over 2 yrs now. I realize it's just
'one mans opinion' so I would like to hear from others on the subject of turning it on and off vs. leaving it on continuously. Any thoughts from the group?

[JBLROCKS]

Wow thanks for all the input!

Question #2...If I decide to buy a tube amp or two I have to buy a seperate Pre-Amp (volume tone controls etc) wouldnt I? Isnt a tube amp just that?

Thanks again

[Bernard Wolf]

Since this a general question on tube amps...
I have been running a MC 240 for several years in my shop. The certified MacIntosh technician that went thru this amp and brought it back to life said in gereral just leave it on 24/7. It's been on for over 2 yrs now. I realize it's just
'one mans opinion' so I would like to hear from others on the subject of turning it on and off vs. leaving it on continuously. Any thoughts from the group?

I would never leave a tube power amp on permanently. In fact, according to my technician I shouldn't even leave the room. I know what he means by that as I have been in the room twice when I lost the sound in one channel, looked over at the amp and saw an output tube flaming into red.... three guesses what I did ... turn it off!!! I wonder what would happen if you just left it like that overnight to cook

As for a pre-amp with small signal tubes there may be somethiing to be said about leaving them on 24/7. I once read where Tim Pavarachini did a test and found that leaving them on all the time increased their life span as opposed to turning them on and off.

Bernard

[JBL Dog]

My preference is vintage McIntosh. I am partial to the MC75 mono blocks. You will need a good tube pre-amp as well. The McIntosh C20, C22, And the MX110 are all very good.

Not only do these gems sound warm and wonderful. They look BITCHIN and seem to hold or go up in value.

I would suggest listening to as many tube systems as you can and purchasing what sounds best to you. Thats what I did and it was the best money I ever spent.

I use a McIntosh MC240 amp with a C22 pre-amp to power a Metregon. I had the units serviced a few years ago. The amp needed a few capacitors. The pre-amp is in perfect condition and still has all the original Telefunken tubes. I had it clenaed and the glass was replaced. I'm very pleased with the results. The speaker and the Mc gear were purchased from an estate in California in 2001. Agreed, the value of these pieces continues to rise to ridiculous levels, which is okay with me!

[aust-ted]

I am interested in getting into "tube equipment" but I dont know much about it.
Any input appreciated.

Just stumbled on this thread.

I am currently using a rebuilt triode wired 17W Leak St50 power amp to drive my JBL 2450 powered mid horns.

There are a number of different approaches to tubed gear which to a great extend depend on the type of speakers you intend to use them with. If you are using active xovers with high efficiency horn loaded mids and ring tweeters like 077/ 2405 then DIY Single Ended (SE) triode power amps are viable and are highly regarded by some. I intend to go down this route. I would not recommend using SE triodes for bass amps unless you are using horn loaded bass drivers.

Otherwise push pull tubed amps either restored quality vintage ones such as McIntosh, Leak, Radford, Dynaco etc, or more recent ones such as Audio Research. Conrad Johnston etc or even new ones may suit provided you match the speaker efficiency and impedance with the amp.

As other posts have written, vintage tubed preamps are generally not highly regarded but more recent ones such as Audio Research can be excellent. They can also be constructed as a DIY project by someone with a reasonable knowledge of electronics. A note of caution however - voltages with tube gear are generally higher than with solid state and can be lethal so be careful.

Also there is no reason why you cannot combine a SS preamp (and xover) with tubed power amps.

Regards
Ted

[Wardsweb]

There is a lot to learn when making the journey into tubes. This post is like trying to tell someone how to design a speaker when they have only heard them. But here are some basics: on average you will spend twice as much for a tube watt than a solid state watt. Single ended triode (SET) amps for the most part are low power. Push-Pull will give you more power, but for some people, at the cost of a different sound. Unless your spending big bucks for big power, you will will need efficient speakers. Ok you just read the inside cover of War & Peace, now you have a lot of reading. Good Luck, have fun and remember it's about the music.

[bigredplane]

There is a lot to learn when making the journey into tubes. This post is like trying to tell someone how to design a speaker when they have only heard them. But here are some basics: on average you will spend twice as much for a tube watt than a solid state watt. Single ended triode (SET) amps for the most part are low power. Push-Pull will give you more power, but for some people, at the cost of a different sound. Unless your spending big bucks for big power, you will will need efficient speakers. Ok you just read the inside cover of War & Peace, now you have a lot of reading. Good Luck, have fun and remember it's about the music.

I love SET also nice amps Scott