My first Tube Amplifier

I've always owned SS power trains. never did I even consider using glass power. never having heard speakers being driven by tubes probably fueled that notion immensely.

I got my introduction to what a fully tubed system could sound like at a local upscale audio dealership. what I heard in that room put jaw immediately on floor.

hearing how much the CDP, p[reamp, and mono blocks would cost me to take them home nearly stopped my heart! it was well over $20K! but that sound is what drove me to tubes to begin with. at least it planted the seed.
 
with that initial haunting dealership experience and knowing nothing of tubes but what was posted on these pages some decades back, my curiosity ushered me into the tube world slowly.

instead of opting for a fully tubed amp, I went with a tubed preamp first. mating that with a SS amp and things got way better way faster! that combo was all BAT. VK5 plus VK500 amp.

the BAT preamp was. informative, but expensive to roll tubes as it had 10 tubes total. it was truly an education.

I stepped up to a better preamp which, BTW had less tubes but better overall sonics, and a much higher price tag. still the BAT VK500 was the amp.


the next excursion was a mistake. I decided to upgrade both the main speakers and amp at just about the same time. poor choice IMHO. should have only done one or the other. likely just the speakers. live and learn.

I bought a BAT VK60 stereo tube amp. Apparently, I missed the lesson on amps which use a lot of tubes, but was quickly reeducated and this time about amps whose output tubes do not have suitable drop in replacements! the VK60 was OK, just not my cup of tea so off it went shortly thereafter.

while deciding on which tube amp )(s) I wanted, or could buy next, a pair of Dodd monos came up for sale. the Dodds were getting plenty of Forum press so I pulled the trigger and brought them in.

again, I'm apparently a slow learner as the cumulative tube compliment for both monos was now up to 14! lovely.

the new speakers were 93db not 87db as were the previous ones so the Dodds ran them just fine. in fact, being somewhat uneducated on IMP taps and tube amps I ran off the 4ohm taps for a while. sonic results were fat, rounded, and lush. eventually and again, from these pages, I switched to the 8ohm taps and the world took on a new sheen! that was the sweet spot for those speakers indeed with those amps.

since then life got complicated, but the desires and designs going now going forward for any outfit I generate will have tubes between the source and speakers. how many beyond the preamp will be the sticking point and decided by my preffs, and the speakers demands. hopefully, it will be another fully tubed powertrain.

A modded Peter Tyson Quad II mod in metallic ‘gold’  bought for £1100 sold for £1150

then croft 25r pre (hybrid) 
now a Leben 300xs in second system.

 Think the icon audio delivers value for money so may head down for a listen at some point.

My first bit of tube gear was a AR SP10  that was gifted to me by one of my very kind and generous clients. I had no idea just how good it was, but when he offered it to me as "an old preamp that he had in his basement" I graciously accepted. It cam with lots of old tubes which were all "graded" on a hand written spread sheet no less. It sounded wonderful in my system and the phono section was amazing, albeit a little bit noisier than the SS unit that I was also using.

The other tubed amp that I have is a "refurbished" Fisher 100b that belonged to my late father. It was in the family for decades until it finally came back to me. I was a little skeptical about using it in my main system due to the relatively low output, but I decided to give it a try while I was between amps. The results were absolutely stunning to say the least. While not the last word in the area of bass and upper frequency extension, the music it made was just that, music. While I am not using it at the moment, it still sits atop my main rack as a reminder of dad's appreciation for music that I am blessed to have inherited. 

HealthKit  W5M which I built with my father in the late 1950’s.  Haven’t used these in years, but I still have several of these units in my basement.  After that Sherwood tube intergrated and then several different solid state units, mostly Heathkit and Carver. All still in the basement.

In the 1990’s  I purchased my current Plinius 8150 which I moved to my mountain home when I purchased my Plinius 9200.  

Absolutely no issues with either Plinius since purchase.  Much warmer then all my previous Solid state amps. Very happy with both these rock solid integrated amps.

I do not miss my tube amps or replacing burned out tubes at all.  Solid state technology has improved significantly since I built my first Heathkit transistor radio.

Cary 300 SE Signature mono blocks. Wish I never sold them.