Ne Tubes 4 HiFi sp 9 tube pre amdp with phono section.

[guitarforlife]

Well, my pre amp arrived on Monday. Here are my impressions. First I do NOT consider myself a "Audiophile".
I do not believe a lot of money buys great sound.
I am a life long music lover and musician. So I do not know if I know the correct "terms" for my description.
I try to find the sound that is in my head. So here goes...................

First I replaced my beloved Marantz PM-8004 that I was using as a pre amp.

The Sp9 came very well packed. I had to take the cover off all the way in order to unpack the bubble wrap that was protecting the tubes.
From there I got a great view of the wiring and build quality. It is very very neat and professional.

I love the solid hand made look and vibe of the whole thing. Nothing mass produced here. You can see how Roy hand built this and it is great.

I have it hooked up to my Emo XPA-2 amp, Rega RP3 TT, Marantz CD-6004 cd player. through a pair of Maggie MMG's.

The first thing I played was the Traveling Wilburys then Al Stewart's Time passages. I will now to make a attempt to describe what I heard.

First thing I noticed is the separation of all the instruments is crazy. It is like going from Black and White to Color a veil was lifted off.

For some reason I'm a cymbal guy.

I could easily tell where the cymbals were hit and when they would move up to hit the bell of the cymbal. Guitars sound very real, acoustic as well as electrics. Drums are tight and crisp like a drum should be.

The stereo separation is crazy to the point I could hear it like I never did before. And yes I heard things that I never heard before in songs I have listen to for years.
Is it that I was paying more attention due to the fact I had a new toy in my system? Maybe, Maybe that is always the case when we get some thing new and we tell our brain it is better or different.

I was thinking about getting a pair of Maggie 1.7's but I have to say for ME this is the sound I hear in my head.   Would they be better ??
Would they be the same???

All in all I'm very happy with this tube pre amp. Now I have never had another to compare to. But where does it stop?
For me I say I'm done My system does what I want it to do and sounds the way I like.

Any way hope this helps with any one thinking of tubes. I'm sold on them. The tube pre and SS amp seams to be a good match.

Oh, one little thing I should mention. Now for me it is no big deal. I have had Tube guitar amps and own 8 at this time so to me this is no biggie.

When I had my Marantz pre amp it was dead silent at idle. The tube pre has a very slight noise at Idle. I cant say if it is a hum or hiss it is so faint but it is there. Guitar amps do the same thing and in no way turns me off on it.

Maybe some of our Tube guys will shed some light on this if they read this. Audio Bill, Keith , Boom, any of you with more tube stereo experience can explain.

[novisnick]

Thanks so much for the update! "Sounds" like you've found what you're looking for.
So happy you've found the detail and seperation that we all strive to find.
Humm/hiss, I've been enjoying the McIntosh C-220 for a few moths now without any of that, I too have fallen for the lady called "tubes" Very enjoyable indeed!!

Recap, Tubed preamp and SS powerful amps for two channel is a winner for me!!

Enjoy the dream ,,,,,,, I won't wake you,,,,,,,,,,,

[audiobill]

Please see my PM....

[guitarforlife]

Ok, update. I had the pleasure of talking to a fellow forum member.(audiobill). And he told me a few things to trouble shoot to eliminate my Very small hum.
By fallowing his advice I made it go away. I just took the ground out by using a three prong adaptor. Worked like a charm.
My thanks to you Bill. I love this thing, could never see myself going back to SS again. Next move tube amp.

[vcautokid]

Awesome, and Congratulations Guitarforlife. So many times we get caught in our way is the only way. Truth be told, your way that gives you the grandest performance you are looking for is always the right way. Solid State, Tube, Nuclear Fission or Fusion reactors, and Quantum Singularities, and particle accelerators. Whatever it takes to get you there. Just know the Journey is always allot of fun. Sometimes even more so then the destination. Congratulations to you again.

[novisnick]

Jun 7, 2016 13:28:53 GMT -5 guitarforlife said:

Ok, update. I had the pleasure of talking to a fellow forum member.(audiobill). And he told me a few things to trouble shoot to eliminate my Very small hum.
By fallowing his advice I made it go away. I just took the ground out by using a three prong adaptor. Worked like a charm.
My thanks to you Bill. I love this thing, could never see myself going back to SS again. Next move tube amp.

Bill knows his stuff!! Great guy too!

[kauai82]

So glad that you like the new tube preamp. I love my Primaluna tube integrated that I bought recently. Welcome to the tube side !

[Raven]

Congrats with your new preamp!

The more I read about tubes the more
I lean toward tubbed preamp...

[audiobill]

It's not just that it's tubed, it's also the superb design that produces superior sonics.

A mistake IMO to buy some cheap Chinese component off ebay with a tube stuck in it and expect world class sonics like guitarforlife is enjoying.

Here's an example of what NOT to get:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0WEBGm2f9s

[monkumonku]

Jun 8, 2016 4:10:16 GMT -5 audiobill said:

It's not just that it's tubed, it's also the superb design that produces superior sonics.

A mistake IMO to buy some cheap Chinese component off ebay with a tube stuck in it and expect world class sonics like guitarforlife is enjoying.

Here's an example of what NOT to get:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0WEBGm2f9s

To add to that, below is a link to the post in the Dynaco forum in which Bob Latino talked about this fraud. Another poster quoted some glowing consumer reviews of the product. Just another example of how we often hear what we want to hear.

dynacotubeaudio.forumotion.com/t2803-chinese-little-bear-p6-preamp-tube-buffer-fraud

[guitarforlife]

Day 3. It just keeps getting better and better. I'm so glad I did this should have done it sooner.

I was just looking at the manual that Roy sent with the pre amp. It is just the schematics. The thing I liked is this. It is just printed on white paper and stapled at the top. Its cut and dry. No useless page after page of federal warnings no sixty pages printed in every language known to man. Just right to the point.

Not only dose this thing blow away my old Marantz you can tell it was assembled by hand by a crafts man that took great time and care. All done by hand.
And made in America. This is the kind of thing that makes me proud to be a American.

It is the same pride and hand work I put into my recipes and the fine food that I make from scratch. Pride in what I do. I see this same pride in this Preamp.

Next, those glowing tubes are calling my name in the form of a Tubes 4 HiFi amp.

[DavidR]

Nice
Thanks for the review.
I'm getting one as soon as they come out in black.

[guitarforlife]

Jun 8, 2016 12:32:48 GMT -5 DavidR said:

Nice
Thanks for the review.
I'm getting one as soon as they come out in black.

Yes, this was a dilemma at first with me as well. But once I received it and hooked it up and removed my old preamp.
It sounds so good I do not even notice it is the only silver faced component in the system.
The truth is I actually wanted all silver faced components but could not find them. So I had to go with black (XPA-2).
But it does not bother me as much as I thought. In fact I could care less now.

[DavidR]

Could you please post a link to what you purchased.
Thanks

[bluemeanies]

Jun 7, 2016 10:59:05 GMT -5 guitarforlife said:

View Attachment

Well, my pre amp arrived on Monday. Here are my impressions. First I do NOT consider myself a "Audiophile".
I do not believe a lot of money buys great sound.
I am a life long music lover and musician. So I do not know if I know the correct "terms" for my description.
I try to find the sound that is in my head. So here goes...................

First I replaced my beloved Marantz PM-8004 that I was using as a pre amp.

The Sp9 came very well packed. I had to take the cover off all the way in order to unpack the bubble wrap that was protecting the tubes.
From there I got a great view of the wiring and build quality. It is very very neat and professional.

I love the solid hand made look and vibe of the whole thing. Nothing mass produced here. You can see how Roy hand built this and it is great.

I have it hooked up to my Emo XPA-2 amp, Rega RP3 TT, Marantz CD-6004 cd player. through a pair of Maggie MMG's.

The first thing I played was the Traveling Wilburys then Al Stewart's Time passages. I will now to make a attempt to describe what I heard.

First thing I noticed is the separation of all the instruments is crazy. It is like going from Black and White to Color a veil was lifted off.

For some reason I'm a cymbal guy.

I could easily tell where the cymbals were hit and when they would move up to hit the bell of the cymbal. Guitars sound very real, acoustic as well as electrics. Drums are tight and crisp like a drum should be.

The stereo separation is crazy to the point I could hear it like I never did before. And yes I heard things that I never heard before in songs I have listen to for years.
Is it that I was paying more attention due to the fact I had a new toy in my system? Maybe, Maybe that is always the case when we get some thing new and we tell our brain it is better or different.

I was thinking about getting a pair of Maggie 1.7's but I have to say for ME this is the sound I hear in my head.   Would they be better ??
Would they be the same???

All in all I'm very happy with this tube pre amp. Now I have never had another to compare to. But where does it stop?
For me I say I'm done My system does what I want it to do and sounds the way I like.

Any way hope this helps with any one thinking of tubes. I'm sold on them. The tube pre and SS amp seams to be a good match.

Oh, one little thing I should mention. Now for me it is no big deal. I have had Tube guitar amps and own 8 at this time so to me this is no biggie.

When I had my Marantz pre amp it was dead silent at idle. The tube pre has a very slight noise at Idle. I cant say if it is a hum or hiss it is so faint but it is there. Guitar amps do the same thing and in no way turns me off on it.

Maybe some of our Tube guys will shed some light on this if they read this. Audio Bill, Keith , Boom, any of you with more tube stereo experience can explain.

guitarforlife good review..your interpretation. Great choice of music selection. Love Al Stewart and the Willburies.
I have the m125's which are amplifiers not a pre-amp...different animals but part of the same species.
IMO with this hobby changes, upgrades never end. Even the smallest change could make for better listening. You don't need a lot of money, however money does help. Buying reliable products from a solid company like tubes4hifi, American made, assembled in the USA is a small footnote with products developed by tubes4hifi.
Cymbals, piano, guitar, violin and the list can go on with the new life your pre is breathing into your system. I would wager that your vinyl experience will be newly founded.
I stream with TIDAL and at this point I am TT free. Part of that reasoning is storage, another is for now TIDAL is doing a super job, cd quality in hifi.
Thinking of new speakers? New Maggie's?
Take you time and if possible perhaps take the new Maggie's home and compare...you might just save yourself some money.
Did I follow my own advice....NO!
I went from the B&W804S speakers to the 803diamonds. The m125's do a great job with both speakers. Did I really need those diamonds...no...I had an opportunity to purchase them at a reasonable price and that guitarforlife was my albatross. I sold my 804S speakers for better than half the price I paid for them 8years ago.
The temptation was to strong not two not to upgrade.
At this point I am set....at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Congrats and enjoy.

[guitarforlife]

Jun 8, 2016 15:28:22 GMT -5 DavidR said:

Could you please post a link to what you purchased.
Thanks

OK, I'm old and computer illiterate. I tried to post a link and apparently I do not know how. So.......

If you look up tubes4hifi just go to the sp9 pre amp. Mine also has the ph12 phono section and it sounds very very good.

[audiobill]

Here's the link:

www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm#SP9

[novisnick]

DavidR

Here ya go

www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm

[guitarforlife]

Jun 9, 2016 12:27:24 GMT -5 novisnick said:

DavidR

Here ya go

www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm

thank you kind sir. I tried that but it never worked.

[novisnick]

Jun 9, 2016 12:37:59 GMT -5 guitarforlife said:

Jun 9, 2016 12:27:24 GMT -5 novisnick said:

DavidR

Here ya go

www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm

thank you kind sir. I tried that but it never worked.

Very strange! Works for me every time!

Are you in the US?