2. amps-preamps
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I Feel Overwhelmed....Please Help

Hello, all.

I have recently decided to begin upgrading to stereo components around the entry level audiophile range, and move away from home theater stuff. I need help, as I had no idea until I began recently researching modern amps, preamps, integrateds, etc, just how huge the selection there is available.

Currently, I have the following:

Harman Kardon AVR 235 A/V receiver
Front L&R channels:
50 Watts per channel
@ <0.07% THD, 20Hz–20kHz into 8 ohms

Harman Kardon FL 8385 CD Changer

Klipsch KG 5.5 Floorstanding Speakers
frequency response 34Hz-20kHz±3dB
power handling 100 watts maximum continuous (500 watts peak)
sensitivity 98dB @ 1watt/1meter
nominal impedance 8 ohms
tweeter K-85-K 1" (2.54cm) Polymer dome compression driver
high frequency horn 90°x60° Tractrix® Horn
woofer Two K-1023-K 10" (25.4cm) Injected Carbon Graphite cones
Bass reflex via front-mounted port

Grado Labs SR325 Headphones

I use the receiver strictly for stereo music playback with my HK CD changer, or I play .flac or .mp3 files via input to the receiver from my computer sound cards optical digital output.

I want to keep my Klipsch speakers for now, along with my Grado cans, which I love. OTOH, I have not been particularly happy with the two HK components. Although the sound is not totally bad, it is a tad too bright, and it is fatiguing to listen over long periods of time. My room acoustics are not ideal either, with hardwood floors and drywall throughout. The listening rooms dimensions are 14'x13', with speaker placement along and near the corners of the 13' wall. At present, I cannot afford any of the acoustic treatments I see on the various internet sites.

From what I have seen so far, I think I would favor the warm, rich, clear sound of tube components. My Klipsch speakers are highly efficient at 8 ohms, so I should not need higher power, but I don't want to lose bass response either. I have not had much experience listening to higher end audio, but I really loved the sound of a friends McIntosh receiver (late 70's vintage), and another friends 60's vintage tubed HH Scott receiver, both systems paired with matching speaker pairs of the same brands respectively. Those experiences are why I believe I should really consider tube amps.

Would someone please be so kind as to suggest components that would allow me to play CD, CD-R, and digital music files based upon what I stated above? I suppose I could do without the ability to directly play back the digital files, but a CD player is a must have. Oh yeah, my budget is up to $3000, but I want to get as much as I can for the best possible price under that ceiling. Thanks.
chap_cat
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Blindjim, I didn't say that you're "half baked" I was speaking of tube rolling audiophiles, in general, not being anywhere near as qualified as the designers of their equipment to make decisions about the best tubes for the equipment. In hobbiests vs. professional designers, the designers win most of the time.

If a designer wants to put a pre-amp, for instance, and then says to his customers something like, "If you want even better sound, then I recommend that you spend another $1500 on these tubes and it'll be an easy upgrade that you can do yourself" then I think that's useful. OTOH, the hobbiest that buys an $15000 Conrad Johnson and immediately says to himself, "I bet that I can make it better by swapping the tubes out for some NOS" is fooling himself.

My main point is, tube rolling is NOT an advantage to tube equipment UNLESS the owner just likes to tube roll. Anyone that enjoys tube rolling should obviously seek out tube equipment. However, IMHO, equipment designers are generally in the best position to decide which parts will sound the best in their equipment. Lots of us would rather buy from a designer that's put together his best effort and stick with that.

Dave
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Blindjim said:

"No matter how you shake it, tube gear offers additional advantages over solid state merely by their nature. Don’t confuse that with performance though. That’s a whole other realm."

So tubes have some mystical advantage over SS, but it's not performance??? Please tell us what "realm" these so called advantages lie in.

I sometimes enjoy turning the lights off and watching the tubes glow on my great little Woo Audio WA6 headphone amp. Is that of what you speak???

Dave
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Dcstep says:

I'm assuming that you're a hobbiest. If so, then anything that you do will be half baked vs. a designer that's spent his whole career designing the best circuits that he knows how to make.

I say:

Jeff Rowland is still a hobbyist and nothing he does is half-baked. He's a designer who has obviously won your heart.
But when I first met him he was a doing Hafler mods. Most of our "designers" were just guys who liked to experiment. Very few have a lengthy academic resume.

Dcstep says:

Once again I'll say, some people like to play around and experiment with tubes to see if they prefer different tubes over what the designer chose. I think that's fine for those people that enjoy that, but I'm in the very substantial camp that would rather pay a designer to do his best work and buy accordingly.

My response:

Many different tubes might be a realistic option in a given tube design. The manufacturer normally supplies tubes with his product. What he supplies may or may not be optimum. And it may or may not be the customer's preference. No designer, however, can or will supply all options. That's up to the owner. Additionally, NOS tubes, by definition, are found, not merely sourced like a currently available, currently produced item. There are specialists who deal in NOS tubes but they too must find them. They can't just email the factory and have a new batch sent over.
Consequently, manufacturers don't generally have the tubes on hand to make all options available. Some, like VAC and Music Reference, have stock available but they too may have gaps while they strive to locate the next pool.

When you buy a new car it has tires on it. They are the ones that were chosen by the designer. Are they the only tires you will ever use? Or will you try some half-baked option from Michelin or Pirelli or Bridgestone instead of the factory supplied, designer specified originals?

My guess is that, once you graduate from the Rod Tompson School, and get into tube world yourself, you will be among it's loudest proponents. Until that happens, you should stick to what you know.
Post removed 
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
"I think that's fine for those people that enjoy that, but I'm in the very substantial camp that would rather pay a designer to do his best work and buy accordingly."

Changing tubes no more invalidates a "designers best work" than swapping power cords. Many designers, especially the more prolific ones, will tell you there are many considerations when they select a tube, they don't choose exclusively based on best sound. In fact, I just had this conversation with a designer who was very enthusiastic about a tube that he thought sounded incredible in his amp but was too rare. We talked for some time about the choices he made, even in circuits, and not everything he decided was his personal choice for his listening preferences and system. He frequently made decisions calculated to broaden the products appeal.
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