2. analog
  3. 1174275589

tubes and analog

I just "upgraded" from a Mac SS integrated to a Prima luna dialogue 2 tube amp. The reason that I changed amps was that i assumed that the tube amp would be a better match for my Zu Druid speakers. The amp change was a big improvment for listening through my CDP....but not so when listening to my Rega P9. I had to switch to my spare SS phono stage (Graham slee) to get it to sound right. I was using a tube phono (AES) with my Mac. In Short, my tube amp with SS phono stage is not really an upgrade from my Mac with Tube phono stage. My question is.....should i consider a further upgrade to a better tube phono pre or is it simply that a change from SS to Tube amp is more "pronounced" in digital playback?
csmithbarc

Showing 3 responses by csmithbarc

csmithbarc OP
29 posts
 
is an adjustable loading phono stage only important for future flexibilty in cart changes?
csmithbarc OP
29 posts
 
Kind of off topic but....one other "problem" with my analog rig is that recordings either sound stunning or not so good. where my Digital all sounds "great". Is this again a problem with my cart and phono pre.
csmithbarc OP
29 posts
 
The Graham slee unit had much more detail across the board...mostly in the lower end. Basically the Graham slee gave me "punchy" base where as the AES tube unit was very "muddy" in comparison. Further, the Graham slee SS unit did not sound dry or lean in any way.
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