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 1 response by shadorne

Glad to see some people standing up to what are gross misleading anti-SS amp blanket statements. I am ashamed to think that some readers (with less scientific backgrounds perusing audiogon) might take some of these blanket statements at face value and go away and sell a perfectly adequate SS amp and buy a very expensive tube amp and some very expensive interconnects and speaker cables (ending up with 20K of gear & cables) to connect to their $2 K speakers with $50 mass produced drivers (all the while they might be better served by room acoustic treatment, the addition of a sub or upgrading the speakers). The hyperbole of some statements make it seem that SS amps will all sound absolutely terrible by their very nature - I strongly disagree with this belief. (BTW - I agree that tube amps, correctly implemented in a synergistic system, can sound absolutely fantastic....but this does not mean that every SS amp designs is bad - there is good SS sound too)

IMHO, blanket statements and hyperbole is what detracts somewhat from other useful and instructive discussions on these forums. I know everyone is probably guilty of these statements from time to time (including myself) but some persist in pressing their philosophies more than others....