I've narrowed it down...


So my first venture into tube equipment will be an integrated amp based on the recommendations of this fine group of enthusiasts. I have narrowed the field to the Rogue Audio Tempest III, Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum, the Cayin H-80 and Cary SLI-80.

All of this is based on what I have read and what fits in my budget. The Cary is a little over but for something I think I'll have for a lifetime I'm willing to go a little over...

I will be driving B&W 602S3's until more $$$ are available for something else.

My intent is to listen to vinyl then maybe venture into CD's or digital music. Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated.

Going somewhere to listen to any of these is not an option for me, and room size is undetermined as I am in the process of moving.

Thanks.
botit

Showing 8 responses by pubul57

"speakers will have a greater effect on sound than amplifiers..." And not by small margin IMHO. OP, what is your budget for an amp and speaker transition? Even if done in stages?
Yes Botit, I think that is very true, changing speakers will change the sound of your system in a much more obvious way than changing amps, and down the road you get the amp that will take your speakers to a higher level. That would be my approach if you are looking to make a real change in the sound of your system and if you have to do one thing first and the second down the road.
I agree no harm would come to the amp, but I think tubes do wear out faster when asked to drive more difficult loads, not sure by how much, but that is my understanding (though I could be wrong, but I'm sure the more technically adept would be able to say more definitively).
If you want to own SETs, you do proabably have to make that decision first and the find appropriate speakers and I suppose in the real world this might very well happen. However, if I were advising someone, I would still tell them to find the speaker the love first and then find an amp to drive it since I think the speaker has a much greater impact on the sonic signature of a systems than any other component, and then tweaked a bit through the selection of electronics, but the recording, speaker and room are at the heart of a system's core performance and sonic attributes IMHO. Of course you could find an amp first, but that would limit speakers you could audition and fall in love with - though some speakers may need high powered SS or tubes, and yes even sometimes SETs to sound their best.
I 2nd Clio9s recommedation of Audiokinesis for a speaker line to consider. A great sounding speaker with the lower powered Atma-sphere S30s (30 watts, Class A, Triode, OTLs) - a killer combination at a relatively low price (for this hobby). I think the speaker was actually developed with the amp which goes a long way to ensuring amplifier/speaker compatability. If I did not own the Merlin VSMs, it is a speaker line that I really would be interested in; it caught my attention at RMAF.
When I was listening to my Technics receiver driving my JLB L19s in college, who knew that one day Class A, Triode, OTL, No NFB would one day meaningful to me:)
They are all like that, but 15 minutes is more than enough to warm them up unless you really want to get paranoid about it. Tube life is very dependent on the tube used and the ciruit it is in - some output tubes in some amps will go 2,000 hours, the ones in my Music Reference RM10 MKII are said to go 10,000 - you need to ask the manufacturer of your particular amp, and the input and driver tubes usually last longer than the output tubes.