To answer your basic question, no, the problems and fussiness you're experiencing are not something you should expect from tube gear, either preamps, amps or integrateds. Well designed, built and matched tube gear is, in my experience, no more trouble than solid state gear.
Is there such a thing??-- Tube Preamp Question
Hello All,
I have recently acquired my first tube preamp. Its a Blue Circle 21.1 with the stepped attenuator. From the start its been a journey. When I received it there was a distinct buzz/hum. I sent it out for repair and they found it was the power transformer. They made me a spiffy new external power supply which solved the problem. I truly love what it does for tonality, richness of voices and my sound stage appears deeper to me with good placement of instruments within it. However, and maybe my expectations are just to high, the hiss and tube replacements (needed to replace tubes after 6 months) along with a generally fussy nature in terms of the need to pop the top and clean to get the fuzzy sounds out occasionally just seems a bit much. Are all tube pres susceptible to this level of need an "fussy" temperament? Another issue, is when I am watching TV and/or using TV as a source, between songs there are strange sounds(bleeps and squeaks) and moments of scratchy sounds noted in quiet passages and seem triggered by moving from one song to the next. It seems very sensitive to picking up TV noise which I have never noted using solid state gear. While it isn't evident at medium to high volume it just bothers me and I know that its there.
Can I have all that this does for me in terms of tonality and sound stage along with a less fussy nature? Does such a thing exist for a reasonable price($1000-$2000). I would like a more silent background with less need for constant attention.
Does such a thing exist?
I have recently acquired my first tube preamp. Its a Blue Circle 21.1 with the stepped attenuator. From the start its been a journey. When I received it there was a distinct buzz/hum. I sent it out for repair and they found it was the power transformer. They made me a spiffy new external power supply which solved the problem. I truly love what it does for tonality, richness of voices and my sound stage appears deeper to me with good placement of instruments within it. However, and maybe my expectations are just to high, the hiss and tube replacements (needed to replace tubes after 6 months) along with a generally fussy nature in terms of the need to pop the top and clean to get the fuzzy sounds out occasionally just seems a bit much. Are all tube pres susceptible to this level of need an "fussy" temperament? Another issue, is when I am watching TV and/or using TV as a source, between songs there are strange sounds(bleeps and squeaks) and moments of scratchy sounds noted in quiet passages and seem triggered by moving from one song to the next. It seems very sensitive to picking up TV noise which I have never noted using solid state gear. While it isn't evident at medium to high volume it just bothers me and I know that its there.
Can I have all that this does for me in terms of tonality and sound stage along with a less fussy nature? Does such a thing exist for a reasonable price($1000-$2000). I would like a more silent background with less need for constant attention.
Does such a thing exist?