Not from my point of view (I have all tubes). If all of your components are warm and mushy I supposed it could be too much, however most tube equipment today is fairly neutral. The benefit tubes bring are not so much tonal benefits as they are a sense of liquidity in the midrange and airiness in the highs. In fact some tubed products are downright chilly in tone. In your place I would get a tube line stage which is known for neutrality such as a Joule, Lamm, CJ or some such.
Too many tubed components in the system?
As a newbie to the tube side of audio, is there such a thing as too many tubed components in the audio signal path?
I have an Audio Aero CDP that has a tubed output stage, have just bought a tube amp (VTL ST-150) and am considering either a tube active linestage or passive linestage.
* Will having an all-tubed component audio chain sound too tubey? Does the concept of "too much of a good thing" apply to tubed reproduced music?
* If the answer above is 'Yes' then is there a max. number of tubed components that one should have in their system and if so then what should they be? (e.g. CDP+preamp vs CDP+amp vs preamp+amp)
Thanks for your insights.
I have an Audio Aero CDP that has a tubed output stage, have just bought a tube amp (VTL ST-150) and am considering either a tube active linestage or passive linestage.
* Will having an all-tubed component audio chain sound too tubey? Does the concept of "too much of a good thing" apply to tubed reproduced music?
* If the answer above is 'Yes' then is there a max. number of tubed components that one should have in their system and if so then what should they be? (e.g. CDP+preamp vs CDP+amp vs preamp+amp)
Thanks for your insights.