if you want the warm, midrangey tube sound, EL34’s are the key. They give so much depth to the sound. I would say that if an amp was designed for them, why change? You can always roll different brands of EL34’s. They are inexpensive tubes.
Cary Audio SLI-80HS vs Primaluna Dialogue HP or Evo Integrated Amps
Greetings all... I ready to move into the tube integrated two channel world. I've never owned tubes before but I've always been enamored with Mac stuff and recently heard the Rogue Audio and was hooked. I have done a lot of research and have narrowed my choices down to these two amps. I live in Va Beach, VA and don't have access to them for an audition so I'm buying 'blind'. I've read many reviews and watched many videos (Kevin Deal is quite the salesman!) but was hoping to get more input here. I doubt I'll find many that have compared the two directly but I thought I'd try. Does anyone have any input here? And, I'm slightly concerned about having to bias the Cary. Is this something that I should be concerned about / is it difficult / time consuming? Thanks for any input. I appreciate it!
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@twoleftears It was Ken Micallef's review. https://www.stereophile.com/content/cary-audio-sli-80hs-integrated-amplifier |
Yes, I saw this. Thanks. Kind of a mixed message but sounds like getting it paired with the Forte IIIs is special. Also, I've read several times (as also noted in this review) that Cary's tube gear has historically had a more lush tube sound and Primaluna leans a bit more solid state. Although, Cary's newer stuff maybe not so much. How many hours of use can I expect from the KT88s in the Cary amp before likely needing replacement? I feel like this amp is going to push itself harder and maybe require more frequent replacements. Is that safe to say? |
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