XLR give you more gain (loudness) but amplify any distortion. A good pair of RCAs will give better soundstage and imaging. I used to be an XLR lover (XLR are great when you have grounding issues) and now have switched to RCAs and love the holographic soundstage. This will open up your choices of tube gear if that is what you want to do. I purchased a Conrad Johnson Classic 2 SE for $2200 new and just loved the warmth, but only RCAs. I know have the Aesthetics Callisto pre eclipse and still just use RCAs, I just don't need the gain. - just to chime in on Rogue Audio - I have the hydra tubeD in a 3rd system and love the clarity and grace that it offers in an under 2K price.
Looking for my first tube amplifier, help appreciated.
Greetings everybody, old school audio gear head here just deciding to begin the search for my first tube amplifier. I am running a Denon DN-A7100 preamp (xlr outputs), a Rotel RB981 on my Chane A3rx-c mains (8 ohm speakers crossed at 80hz), NAD 216 THX bridged on my JL Audio 13w3v3 8 ohm subwoofer in a sealed enclosure (also crossed at 80hz by the Denon).
I have over 300 gigs of wave file CD audio and enjoy everything from new rock to the Beatles.
I am looking to upgrade my system, of course one piece at a time, and really want to start with a tube amp. As a former guitarist I am a big fan of tube amplification so want to give it a whirl on my home stereo.
I was looking at the Audio Research VS60 but it doesn’t have XLR inputs. I enjoy high volumes so am trying to go with as much power as I can for my hard earned dollar. Yes, if money was no object I would drop 10k on a class A monster but that’s not gonna happen lol.
So I am hoping for some recommendations for a reliable and great sounding tube amplifier that has AT LEAST 50w per channel, has XLR inputs and is priced under $2000 on the used market. All recommendations are appreciated, thanks so much! Mike