Lose the HK and buy an integrated with a small external Phono pre. Something like a Jolida would work well and a parasound PPH100 for about $100. The biggest problem you may face is driving your electrostatics...
Newbie to tube amps - looking for specific rec's
I'm a newbie to tube amps and am mostly looking for one to play my vinyl collection, as I feel that from previous listening sessions, much of the old vinyl recordings (I grew up in Motown and have a LARGE collection) sound their best when played via tube amp. That being said, my Main Family listening area is a monstrous 20 X 60 X 12 area with half of it open on one side to a dining and kitchen area, so I think I'm going to stick with my (great value, IMHO) Paradigm Studio 100 ref V.3's and (this will send shock waves throughout some folks bodies, but I audioned MANY sides and rears over the last year and ended up with -- *gasp* the new Aperion bi/di-pole sides and surrounds - who 'nother discussion but these 12 ohm babies really sound terrific).
Back to the main point. I have another Listening Area which is small and in which I rotate various equipment (got some Linn Nexus fronts which I was just going to check out and then pack back away, but they're such incredible "monitor" speakers, I may keep them. Also some Meadowlark Shearwater hot rods, Ohm Walsh F's (another whole story), and others). This is the space I go into for Serious Listening. It's only about 12 X 40 X 10, with woodeen walls and blinds all around most sides, for nice acoustical dampening. This is also my "office" and the area where I bring my vinyl "into" the digital world. I use a non-RIAA turntable through a single-tube phono amp, then sample at 192khz and apply the RIAA curve via software. This results in a typically great digital representation, but I would like to check it against a "real" tube amp setup (I use a cheap HK AVR amp as a pre-amp). Oh yeah, I've got "Peter Gunn" re-doing some electrostat's for me and they'll go into my Listening Area as well.
So, I'd like a tube amp, but ideally it should be small footprint, not a lot of power, but give the utmost in "tubeness", to make a different between what I'm doing now and what it might provide. If such a thing is available, I would prefer one without RIAA and/or a switch to apply RIAA correction on/off.
Oh yeah, and of course, I don't want to spend a lot of money (hopefully not more than $1k, given how little it'll be used), and I am not averse to kits if that's a rec'd optoin (I've built discrete and op-amp kits in the past). Whew! So, what's the "Best Amp" I should be looking for for under $1k? (I know, especially in this area that "Best" is highly subjective, but perhaps folks could at least say "not one of those jobs they're shipping out of Honk Kong for $400 a pop!). TIA,
Terry
Back to the main point. I have another Listening Area which is small and in which I rotate various equipment (got some Linn Nexus fronts which I was just going to check out and then pack back away, but they're such incredible "monitor" speakers, I may keep them. Also some Meadowlark Shearwater hot rods, Ohm Walsh F's (another whole story), and others). This is the space I go into for Serious Listening. It's only about 12 X 40 X 10, with woodeen walls and blinds all around most sides, for nice acoustical dampening. This is also my "office" and the area where I bring my vinyl "into" the digital world. I use a non-RIAA turntable through a single-tube phono amp, then sample at 192khz and apply the RIAA curve via software. This results in a typically great digital representation, but I would like to check it against a "real" tube amp setup (I use a cheap HK AVR amp as a pre-amp). Oh yeah, I've got "Peter Gunn" re-doing some electrostat's for me and they'll go into my Listening Area as well.
So, I'd like a tube amp, but ideally it should be small footprint, not a lot of power, but give the utmost in "tubeness", to make a different between what I'm doing now and what it might provide. If such a thing is available, I would prefer one without RIAA and/or a switch to apply RIAA correction on/off.
Oh yeah, and of course, I don't want to spend a lot of money (hopefully not more than $1k, given how little it'll be used), and I am not averse to kits if that's a rec'd optoin (I've built discrete and op-amp kits in the past). Whew! So, what's the "Best Amp" I should be looking for for under $1k? (I know, especially in this area that "Best" is highly subjective, but perhaps folks could at least say "not one of those jobs they're shipping out of Honk Kong for $400 a pop!). TIA,
Terry