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Post by novisnick on Mar 11, 2016 22:13:36 GMT -5
I can not easily go check out tubes, fact,,,,,,no way around this. Sometimes small towns have their limitations. where is the most bang for the buck when it comes to the tube goodness, amps? Preamps? Buffers? Phono preamp? I know that this question is like asking someone how to swim that has never been in the water, or a blind person what a flower looks like. Sorry, but unless i drop a bunch of coin that I don't really have,,,,,,,we all have our precious amount of funds for this addiction!!  I do love the system we've built but I feel that there may be something missing,,,,,,,,,,I have NO idea what it could be. Alot of my well recorded music sounds great even in the room in many of my vinyl recording!,,,,in the room, I mean , I can smell the cigarettes burning and the wines aroma filling the air kind of in the room. Yep, Im crazy and need help,,,,,,,,,,but untill that time,I ask y'all for help. Thanks |
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harri009
Emo VIPs 
ReferenceAnalog.com
Posts: 1,425
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Post by harri009 on Mar 12, 2016 2:11:36 GMT -5
I would go with a tube preamp, I wouldn't go too cheap though. A lot of guys buy a piece of crap tube pre and then say they hate tubes. Just like a junky solid state pre would make you shy away from solid state if you had never heard it, the same can be said for tubes.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2016 6:52:36 GMT -5
My recommendation would be a tube preamp. It allows tube rolling more easily so you can experiment with different tubes to find the ones your ears enjoy.
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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 12, 2016 6:58:11 GMT -5
My frien! I'll loan you my McIntosh tube preamp. You were kind enough to loan me your XPA-1L pair when I needed them! Jus ax!
Keep in mind that the Mac has less "tube sound" than most of the Chinese stuff, but it still has its magic! It also has brand new Premium Genelex Gold Lion tubes AND a phono stage!
I'd offer to bring it to you but I'm SWAMPED with work. If you can drive by this weekend, you're welcome to take it home & play.
Boomzilla
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kazoo
Emo VIPs
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Post by kazoo on Mar 12, 2016 8:28:49 GMT -5
There are a lot of good tube amp companies. Some cheaper in price and some really expensive. As mentioned above stay away from the eBay Chinese amps. I have and like Decware. Check out their website. www.decware.com/newsite/homepage.html |
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Post by yves on Mar 12, 2016 10:00:45 GMT -5
Stay away from tube gear that sounds "tubey", or overbearing and stay away from it regardless of whether it's made in China. That said, I highly recommend the Eastern Electric MiniMax tube gear, i.e. both the tube phono stage and the tube preamp — as well as the DAC Supreme, and in fact the M156 monoblocks sound quite spectacular too, BTW... but then again tube power amps typically are very picky about which speakers you use. Phono preamp:  Preamp:  |
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Post by novisnick on Mar 12, 2016 10:34:04 GMT -5
My frien! I'll loan you my McIntosh tube preamp. You were kind enough to loan me your XPA-1L pair when I needed them! Jus ax! Keep in mind that the Mac has less "tube sound" than most of the Chinese stuff, but it still has its magic! It also has brand new Premium Genelex Gold Lion tubes AND a phono stage! I'd offer to bring it to you but I'm SWAMPED with work. If you can drive by this weekend, you're welcome to take it home & play. Boomzilla What a super offer my friend, very generous, no time to think about it this moment, off to work but will most likely dream of it all day. Ill let you know before it gets late. Thx so much. |
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Post by monkumonku on Mar 12, 2016 11:41:37 GMT -5
My frien! I'll loan you my McIntosh tube preamp. You were kind enough to loan me your XPA-1L pair when I needed them! Jus ax! Keep in mind that the Mac has less "tube sound" than most of the Chinese stuff, but it still has its magic! It also has brand new Premium Genelex Gold Lion tubes AND a phono stage! I'd offer to bring it to you but I'm SWAMPED with work. If you can drive by this weekend, you're welcome to take it home & play. Boomzilla What a super offer my friend, very generous, no time to think about it this moment, off to work but will most likely dream of it all day. Ill let you know before it gets late. Thx so much. Hey that is indeed a generous offer - you should take him up on it!!! Why haven't you already done so? What's the matter -- are ya chicken?  Seriously if you're curious about tubes that's a nice opportunity. |
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Post by brubacca on Mar 12, 2016 11:50:06 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
It is a super generous offer. Boomzilla is being a phenomenal friend in offering this up to you, but...
What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until. Trust me I am still living with the memory of the sound I can not afford. A dealer did this to me with a $7,000 CD player that I didn't realize I was listening to. That was about 4 years ago now. I have been chasing that sound since. I have come close, but not achieved it. Sometimes it haunts me.
I'm not saying this to take away from Boom's offer, just consider what is the next step if you love it.
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Post by monkumonku on Mar 12, 2016 11:56:39 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is a super generous offer. Boomzilla is being a phenomenal friend in offering this up to you, but... What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until. Trust me I am still living with the memory of the sound I can not afford. A dealer did this to me with a $7,000 CD player that I didn't realize I was listening to. That was about 4 years ago now. I have been chasing that sound since. I have come close, but not achieved it. Sometimes it haunts me. I'm not saying this to take away from Boom's offer, just consider what is the next step if you love it. Well the consolation for Nick is if he really likes that McIntosh but can't yet afford it, he can just live at Boom's house for a while. And besides, he can always borrow the money. Pursuing stuff we can't afford but getting it anyway is the American way! |
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Post by kauai82 on Mar 12, 2016 12:31:25 GMT -5
I can not easily go check out tubes, fact,,,,,,no way around this. Sometimes small towns have their limitations. where is the most bang for the buck when it comes to the tube goodness, amps? Preamps? Buffers? Phono preamp? I know that this question is like asking someone how to swim that has never been in the water, or a blind person what a flower looks like. Sorry, but unless i drop a bunch of coin that I don't really have,,,,,,,we all have our precious amount of funds for this addiction!! I do love the system we've built but I feel that there may be something missing,,,,,,,,,,I have NO idea what it could be. Alot of my well recorded music sounds great even in the room in many of my vinyl recording!,,,,in the room, I mean , I can smell the cigarettes burning and the wines aroma filling the air kind of in the room. Yep, Im crazy and need help,,,,,,,,,,but untill that time,I ask y'all for help. Thanks Novisnick ---I get were you are at. You want to get that tube "sound" but don't want to drop a ton of money and not have that Emo 30 day trial period to return it. Go borrow Boomzilla's tube pre and see if you like the sound. While you are there talk to him about Chinese preamps and integrated amps. He has owned both and knows what he is talking about. I tried four different Chinese preamps and had various amounts of success. There is a thread on it about on the forum. There are very good inexpensive Chinese Tube Preamps if you want to find them. Making a statement that all of them are junk is like saying Emotiva is no good because they are internet direct and have (had ?) very good prices. On March 20th I will be with the Los Angeles and Orange County Audiophile society at Up Scale Audio in Upland Ca. I will be able to listen to Primealuna and other tube products. I have a Emo XSP-1 now and have had a Pre-One and a USP-1 in my main system in the past so I do have some of the same background as you in listening preference. I am in the process of looking at a Primeluna preamp or a Yaqin integrated tube amp. Boom has been very helpful in PM's giving me guidance on the route to take in my tube journey. Hope this helps. Matt |
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Post by JKCashin on Mar 12, 2016 12:44:28 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is a super generous offer. Boomzilla is being a phenomenal friend in offering this up to you, but... What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until. Trust me I am still living with the memory of the sound I can not afford. A dealer did this to me with a $7,000 CD player that I didn't realize I was listening to. That was about 4 years ago now. I have been chasing that sound since. I have come close, but not achieved it. Sometimes it haunts me. I'm not saying this to take away from Boom's offer, just consider what is the next step if you love it. This man speaks the truth! |
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guitarforlife
Sensei
Just another busy day in Northern Wisconsin.
Posts: 947
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Post by guitarforlife on Mar 12, 2016 13:22:41 GMT -5
Hey Nick, Tubes for HI FI sells a tube preamp with built in tube phono stage plug and play for around 1300.00 It is the SP9. They have three modals to chose from.
This is a great price when you consider the project tube phono stage is $450.00 alone then if you go the tube buffer way it is $179.00 from Yaqin.
To me it makes more sense to go with the SP9 made in America ready to go.
Hopefully Audiobill will shed some light on this.
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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 12, 2016 13:39:05 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions...What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until... Many options here, dragonfly! If the Nickster likes tube sound, then there is LOTS of tube gear available at every price range. If he doesn't like tube sound, then problemo es resuelto! If he absolutely finds the Mac ravishing and nothing else will do, he can buy it from me at his convenience on a time-payment plan - I'm catholic enough in my tube preferences to find something else that tweaks my interest. novisnick is not only a fellow Lounge member, but also a friend. I'll help him when I can. And, living in a larger town than Nick does, I have more options in used equipment (CraigsList, yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales, trash piles, etc.). And lest you roll your eyes at the "trash piles" option, I once found a McIntosh MC240 in a trash pile. Perfect but for a broken tube (one) and the power cord that someone had cut off. And when I say perfect - no rust, clean chrome, original lettering, factory-new looking! I sold it to a Japanese audiophile, but (like many things) I wish I'd kept it! Oh well... Boom |
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Post by novisnick on Mar 12, 2016 13:40:01 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is a super generous offer. Boomzilla is being a phenomenal friend in offering this up to you, but... What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until. Trust me I am still living with the memory of the sound I can not afford. A dealer did this to me with a $7,000 CD player that I didn't realize I was listening to. That was about 4 years ago now. I have been chasing that sound since. I have come close, but not achieved it. Sometimes it haunts me. I'm not saying this to take away from Boom's offer, just consider what is the next step if you love it. This man speaks the truth! Yous take your chances and then,,,,,,,,,maybe,,,,,,,,,,pays the price,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and get the living poop kicked out of you by the Mrs.!!! And sell ,,,,sell,,,,,,sell,,,,,,,some gear!! (Cheap) to get out of trouble!!  |
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guitarforlife
Sensei
Just another busy day in Northern Wisconsin.
Posts: 947
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Post by guitarforlife on Mar 12, 2016 13:47:08 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is a super generous offer. Boomzilla is being a phenomenal friend in offering this up to you, but... What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until. Trust me I am still living with the memory of the sound I can not afford. A dealer did this to me with a $7,000 CD player that I didn't realize I was listening to. That was about 4 years ago now. I have been chasing that sound since. I have come close, but not achieved it. Sometimes it haunts me. I'm not saying this to take away from Boom's offer, just consider what is the next step if you love it. Don't beat yourself up to bad. Most of the time our memory tends to make things better then they actually are. |
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Post by novisnick on Mar 12, 2016 13:50:05 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions...What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until... Many options here, dragonfly! If the Nickster likes tube sound, then there is LOTS of tube gear available at every price range. If he doesn't like tube sound, then problemo es resuelto! If he absolutely finds the Mac ravishing and nothing else will do, he can buy it from me at his convenience on a time-payment plan - I'm catholic enough in my tube preferences to find something else that tweaks my interest. novisnick is not only a fellow Lounge member, but also a friend. I'll help him when I can. And, living in a larger town than Nick does, I have more options in used equipment (CraigsList, yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales, trash piles, etc.). And lest you roll your eyes at the "trash piles" option, I once found a McIntosh MC240 in a trash pile. Perfect but for a broken tube (one) and the power cord that someone had cut off. And when I say perfect - no rust, clean chrome, original lettering, factory-new looking! I sold it to a Japanese audiophile, but (like many things) I wish I'd kept it! Oh well... Boom Nick passes out and falls to the floor!!!  |
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Post by audiobill on Mar 12, 2016 14:00:09 GMT -5
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Post by bluemeanies on Mar 12, 2016 14:28:01 GMT -5
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Post by novisnick on Mar 12, 2016 15:42:08 GMT -5
the road to hell is paved with good intentions...What happens if you love it and can't afford it? Now you will chase that sound or have to wait until... Many options here, dragonfly! If the Nickster likes tube sound, then there is LOTS of tube gear available at every price range. If he doesn't like tube sound, then problemo es resuelto! If he absolutely finds the Mac ravishing and nothing else will do, he can buy it from me at his convenience on a time-payment plan - I'm catholic enough in my tube preferences to find something else that tweaks my interest. novisnick is not only a fellow Lounge member, but also a friend. I'll help him when I can. And, living in a larger town than Nick does, I have more options in used equipment (CraigsList, yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales, trash piles, etc.). And lest you roll your eyes at the "trash piles" option, I once found a McIntosh MC240 in a trash pile. Perfect but for a broken tube (one) and the power cord that someone had cut off. And when I say perfect - no rust, clean chrome, original lettering, factory-new looking! I sold it to a Japanese audiophile, but (like many things) I wish I'd kept it! Oh well... Boom I have read booms dumpster diving antics with lust in my heart at times! This man has found some great gear because he loves the search/hunt and knows what hes looking at when he sees it!! And hes not to lazy to get up early and look for those deals! Boomzilla is a great hunter/gatherer!! |
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