Too many tubes?


I have what may be a less than ideal situation for now, a tubed preamp and a tubed phono pre feeding into the first pre. So I’m wondering how to tube each one so the different sources don’t have totally different sound. Ideally I would like the main preamp to be responsible for setting the sound for the entire system as much as possible.

So how do different tubes "sounds" interact? Would a lush sounding tube in each preamp result in "double lush"? Would a leaner sounding tube in the phono and a more lush tube in the system pre even out the sound somewhat from the two different sources? Or would two leans equal "double lean" or maybe something closer to the lush tube. I guess the best way to put it, is are the different tube types when mixed in different ways additive or subtractive or somewhere in between? Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.
jaybe

Showing 1 response by bobsjr4

Jaybe,
'I'm running the J9 with a rebuilt vintage B & O 8002. I recently had the suspension on the MM C2 cartridge go out and tried replacing the tubes in the Jolida with NOS Mullards. Turned out to be the cartridge (the Jolida is modest by standards here but the toggles let you customize to rare cartridges). After running the old MMC2 I found a real NOS MMC1.  The cartridge sounds better but I must admit changing the phono tubes back makes little difference with either set of speakers (that I can hear). Same goes for listening to cans through a Schiit Lyr. Maybe it's our modest taste in phono stages.
i run the system through a tube pre into a tube amp for the study and SS for my main Thiel 2.4 speakers. Trying different tubes in the phono yielded less impressive results than changing the Primaluna tubes in the amp for the study.
ive not tried rolling tubes in the preamp as I read rectifier tubes make little difference. 
One way or the other I guess it comes back to what you hear. I'm older and the Bang & Olusen sounds as good to me as expensive Regas with its lack of a motor drive and "moving mass coil".
maybe my old ears are saving me money, but I can still tell vinyl from digital, even after going to a Schiit Gungnir Multibit for Redbook and Exemplar modified Oppo for SACD.
whatever sounds best to you is your best choice.