Seeking advice on tube amps

To the OP, what source and preamp?,very important,if you are interested in say a Mac 275, what preamp and source will bedriving it ?, I have like 5 systems in my house, one of which is around a small pair of B&W cm2, a whopping $900/pair of book shelf speakers, I can dramatically change the sound with the electronics I have, I mean DRAMATICALLY,which shows me the speaker is at the mercy of what you feed it.

If someone is basically starting from scratch,they need to look ath the whole system as just that....a system, not just pick speakers and go from there.

Grant,

For the most part I agree with you. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, as I do know folks who have fell in love with the sound of a specific amplifier, and proceed to find speakers that best suit the amp. Granted, most do it the other way around, but as in all things audio, there are always exceptions to every rule......no?

Cheers,
John

I still want to remind all of you not to lose sight of the fact that the original poster, Mr. Tmesselt, is new to tubes and that your advice about "speakers first" though well intended and basically true, may cause problems for this individual, whose main interest right now is an entry-level TUBE experience. Not a speaker-shopping spree ;-)

What if he were to fall in love with some speakers that had special (not to say fussy) amp requirements, or were poor candidates for tube amplification in the first place? To avoid his selecting speakers that might not even work with a modest, user-friendly tube amp, or winding up with speakers requiring a tube amp that might be expensive, high maintenance, or not practical with a wide variety of speakers (i.e. not easy to resell) I remain convinced his first experience with tubes requires a more conservative approach.

Gaining basic general experience first, with a modest, predictable and trouble-free setup, insures better, more informed choices in the future. Even if the man has unlimited funds, if you want to advise him responsibly, make sure they will be well spent by providing him with a solid experience for making future purchases.

With all due respect to Tvad, I think the reverse approach is best for those people who have already gained some basic understanding about tube audio and have already defined/refined their personal sonic preferences.