Tubes vs Tubeless

@bahston It might be worthwhile looking at the recently shared info in the @whitestix posts, where there is info about the impressions made by a certain cost friendly SS Power Amp' in comparison to Valve Amp's that have been very impressive in use. 

This same Amp' when found in the UK as a used purchase sale item will be bought with immediacy, otherwise it will be a late 2026 purchase, to learn what its capabilities are in my own, and extending to other systems I am fortunate to be quite familiar, as well as those I only get demo's off irregularly.

All the info made available to you is really worth pondering for what it actually means towards what you want to achieve. 

OP

as you have read with all the post above, all have different views. I have heard a Vandersteen 3a powered by a Pass Labs INT-60 and they sound wonderful and it's an end game system for most. I have not heard an ALLNIC Tube amps, but they are highly rated and well regarded. 

For this, if you so choose the ALLNIC brand, I suggest the HOLO Audio brand of DACS, specifically the MAY KTE. they sound very analog and I would say will give the DENAFRIPS brand a run. I have Denafrips and I have auditioned the Holo May and I am thinking of switching to that brand. it's that good!!

good luck

I have researched both of the above mentioned DAC’s. Then, crazy stupid thoughts began running through my head and finally, one of the more wise voices in the committee spoke up and said, “one step at a time”.

The plan is to get the preamp/amp setup first and then to make a comparison and then and only then, I’ll begin to torture myself with DAC considerations.

I have to tell ya, I purchased a used Linn Akurate DSM a lil over a year ago and I’m pretty impressed. It’s a 4-5 year old DAC and the price was right.

We’ll see.

Your Linn gets the music right - a spin thru the Linn Record division jazz offerings should tell you they have… good engineering sense and good ears. Probably the guy I trust most who carries both Linn and Vandersteen is Rick in Fort Collins. I believe it would be worth your time to call.

as an aside the Vandersteen 3A signature is in my mind a different beast which richly rewards a SS amp with iron grip in the low end - I owned them for a decade with SS amplifiers. My brother still runs them with a big Threshold.

I helped setup a pair of Quattro yesterday w SM SAS power and VTL tube line stage… lovely sonics…

have fun OP hopefully you don’t get sucked into what I call the DAC de jour crowd… but I suppose that is a different thread… eh…

I would pursue biamping so you get the best of both worlds. You’re gonna probably spend more money than you want but you should reach for quality rather than upgrading later which is a very big financial mistake.

Spend time with your decision don’t rush it and talk to a lot of people.

Harmonics are a lot better when you have tubes. Preamp with tubes is a good starting point. Stay away from inefficient speakers. Conrad Johnson and vac amplifiers are real good and I wish I had VAC but they don’t do biamping amps and no one does which makes it harder except for McIntosh who makes a biamp amplifier but it’s very very big but very very nice. It’s the 901, and expensive