Tube sites/books, recommendations please

Ditto the suggestion for Brent Jesse's informative website. He's also a very good source for reasonably priced, high quality tubes, as is Andy at Vintage Tube Services.

BTW, don't stop with just getting a tubed preamp... you have to go the full distance and switch to a tube amplifier. Trust me... once you try a decent tube amp, you won't ever be satisfied with solid state.

Pdreher, "BTW, don't stop with just getting a tubed preamp... you have to go the full distance and switch to a tube amplifier. Trust me... once you try a decent tube amp, you won't ever be satisfied with solid state."

I completely agree, and feel that's terrific advice. In fact, given the scenario where I could only choose of the two, I'd go with the tube amplifier. No doubt about it. Only a tube amplifier can truly provide the sound of tubes.

Thanks so much for the information thus far. It's certainly possible that one day I will get a tube amp, but recently I acquired a near mint McIntosh 2255 that was built in May of '82. This has been a long time want of mine and to me has a wonderful warm, yet accurate sound that I've always admired. I guess I'll see how it goes with the pre-amp and decide from there...again, thanks for the help.

I would also agree with the Brent Jessie recommendation. He is very helpful and honest!

Lensteve - what's the rest of your setup like? (Sources, power amp, speakers, cables, room dimensions, etc.)

Also a note on McIntosh - While I like their products and believe they're built extremely well, it's next to impossible to find a truly good deal on anything they've made. I wouldn't try to build the entire setup around McIntosh gear unless you can just throw around thousands like it's pocket change. A good idea would be to try to find someone in your area who's got a tubed setup and get to know them. Out of my tiny audiophile circle, I'm the only "tube guy", but my dad had tons of Mc, CJ, Fisher, Dynaco, and some older Citation amps.