Tube amps - what 3 things…


Hello all,
 

I am close to purchasing a tube amp moving away from SS. So far I have listened to a pure sound, PL, and allnic. 


Question for all you experienced owners - if you could do it all over again, what 3 things/features would you look for in an amplifier and what 3 things/features would you not invest in again?

 

thanks

mpoll1

I'd honestly consider a tube preamp (tube phone) and SS amp. Dan Wright of Modwright has created some absolutely killer gear at reasonable prices. He's also designed an all-tube analog bridge for SS sources. You'd be hard pressed to create a better sounding stack of gear.

Also depends on all of the other factors others already listened like speakers, room specs. 

Make sure you can afford the cost of a periodic re-tube, and select a model whose tube types are still in production.

This has been a great thread - which is why I love this site! I will be reading and rereading everyone's comments.

To fill in some gaps and respond to some of your comments - 

Room is an open plan lounge of 9m by 8m. Currently running some 99db efficient Zu's, but have also owned some ATC's before and would not rule out going back to something like that at some point. 

I am lucky enough to be in the middle of an extension that will factor in some room treatment (mainly ceiling) as well as a dedicated power supply.

 

@mulveling  love that detail structure. Great shout on the ability to service outside of the warranty. This is one of the reasons ATC we so great.

 

@larryi  I think you are spot on with to question about attitude. I dont know where I fit on that scale. I have wanted tubes since I was a kid, but always had SS. I dont mid tinkering and enjoy the purchasing of things, but that might be short lived. I also have a family to think about and I dont want them to be "scared" to use it or potentially damage anything. I will live with the Allnic T2000 30th for the next week. and see from there. I also dont want to worry about reducing the amount the kids play in the house if I cant find a good location for it.

 

@clio09 - I wasn't leaving it 15mins before adjusting the bias. I was letting it do is "soft start" which is about 1min before adjusting. the adjustments were very minimal to hit the centre of the bars, but I will leave it longer and see what happens.

@ieales you paint a very real picture here ands my above comment about my family using the equipment gives me something to think about. I am loving the sound, but it is all about balance here. 

@boomerbillone  and @fatdaddy2  - yes I have been thinking about that cost, but again trying to balance it against the enjoyment vs the one off cost of SS. Not sure I can measure that delta just yet.

@njkrebs - I am thinking about that, but was originally trying to minimise the gear I have.

 

Thanks to everyone else for taking the time on this - its a massive help!

 

 

ieales

Sold all my tube gear except for a couple of guitar amps.  No regrets.

No more noisy tubes, better bass extension and tone with SS, just take my pre-amp out of standby and go...

No more headaches getting good vintage tubes, no more need for a finicky vintage tube tester, no wasting time tube "rolling", no more worries about Russian supply or Chinese garbage, etc.

No worries about dog noses getting burned.

I do miss the cool glowing glass bottles in the dark, but that's about it.

Just my 2 cents.

I also sold my 1936 Ford...

Nice sounding OPTs, and strong power supply are as important as anything.  The ability to switch between modes (triode, ultralinear, pentode) is nice.  The more tubes it can accept, the more options you have to tailor the sound to your tastes.  Enjoy!