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Looking to get something tube, but where to start?

dvdchance

dvdchance

Active Member
What is a good place to start enjoying tube audio? I've heard such good things about the special sound of tubes.

My main system now is a Denon 2805 receiver, being used as a preamp to a 5 channel Rotel RMB 1075 amp. My 2 main audio sources are a Denon 2910 DVD-CD player and a Dual 1219 TT.

Would a tube amp sound good connected to the Denon receiver? I could have the tube amp run the front 2 speakers and use the Rotel for the centre and 4 surrounds. Now the Rotel runs the fronts, centre and surrounds, the Denon amp runs the surround backs.

Or would I be better off setting up a seperate all tube system? Or just enjoy the good sound I have now?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, since I'm a total tube virgin.
 
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It is not an inexpensive path to start down. If you are interested I would start with a good tubed preamp. This is the component where you will get the most "tube" sound from.
 
Or.....

Look for a dusty old console with tubes inside. Especially IMHO a Magnavox if possible, because they seem to be some of the most straightforward to rehab and restore with a minimum of fuss and equipment...:yes:

And there are lotsa threads about them here too....:thmbsp:
 
You need to make sure your speakers are tube friendly first. Also, be aware that they will need room to breath and expel heat.
You may wish to consider a separate audio only system for your tubes.
Jack
 
As noted, tubes aren't cheap, so be sure you have the spare cash in case you need service on them, or replacement tubes.

Like also noted, a preamp might be your best bet first. That way you don't have to worry about if your speakers are efficient enough or not. I've yet to get a good listen to a tubed pre, but I am looking forward to that chance...

If you decide to skip the pre for now, and go with an amp, you will need to be sure you have some good efficient speakers. You can run speakers that aren't efficient, but you probably won't be as happy with the sound as you would be with something that is more geared for running with tubes.

The best thing to do is shop around, and read up on any amp or preamp you are considering. Come to understand what different types of amps are good at doing what. They are not all created equal, and one type may suit you better than another.
 
I agree with starting with a tube preamp. I'd suggest building the Bottlehead preamp. You can do it for under $300.00 and it is simple. Cheers.
 
As this thread is showing, there are two distinctly different paths. The first is a "new" component, either as a kit or complete. These will tend to cost more initially, but are known quantities with formal support from the manufacturers. If you feel you are a real klutz with simple tools and basic electricity, then the complete units are for you. Most of the kits aren't that difficult to assemble, and you learn quite a bit about tube electronics as you go.

If you are more adventurous, can read (or learn to read) basic electrical schematics, and want the most bang for your buck, then finding and rehabbing old tube components is the way to go. They can literally be found everywhere. Anything that delivered sound and was built more than ~ 45 years ago has some sort of tube preamp and / or amp capabilities. This includes radios, record and tape players, old tube TV consoles, PA systems, organs, as well as the big name stand-alone tube units. There are many obscure tube units that can hold their own with the best, and can be stumbled across for pennies on the dollar. There are numerous AKers more than willing to help you find schematics and work through any problems you may encounter.

The only possible difficulty with older units is that some are mono, and finding a matching unit may take some time. But there are still plenty of stereo units out there, and you may find that your mono treasures have a very decent worth as trades towards an approprate stereo item.
 
thanks fot the suggestions. thye bottlehead looks very interesting. That might be a good way to start since most of my listening lately has been vinyl. I'm assuming I would connect the Bottlehead to one of the inputs on my Denon, or direct to my amp?
 
dvdchance said:
thanks fot the suggestions. thye bottlehead looks very interesting. That might be a good way to start since most of my listening lately has been vinyl. I'm assuming I would connect the Bottlehead to one of the inputs on my Denon, or direct to my amp?
Click to expand...

Vinyl is a whole other story. I think with the bottlehead stuff you will need to build a phono preamp. I am pretty sure their linestage does not have a phono stage. Like I said it is easy to spend a lot of cash on tube equipment. :D
 
One could just get a tubed phono stage I guess. Personally I've been the tubed pre/ss amp route, and it may or may not give you that much of the "tubed" sound, and think one should go tubes all around. But, one should listen to tubed systems first.
Jack
 
I started with a tube phono preamp, and now have an even better one. It's been one of the most dramatic upgrades I've made to my vinyl system yet.
 
I agree with all the suggestions here, but one option has been forgotten. The new Chinese units. They are surprisingly cheap. I thought I could never get into the world of valves... but then I saw an advert online, found the nearest hifi store with them in stock, and went to listen. The unit I was initially interested in was good, but not great. So the friendly hifi nutter that was the salesman (he also makes his own series of well renowned speakers) almost gave himself a hernia hauling out a much bigger, and a little more expensive beast. All the speakers we tried it on came to life with the most gorgeous sound. I followed some other leads to find my tube based CD player... same thing... This Chinese CD player (old model... the store owner refused to sell his, so I purchased another second hand) made a pretty bad sounding system (Paradigm speakers and Denon/Cambridge front end) come to life in the most amazing way.

Some of the Chinese stuff should be avoided, some is cheep and great sounding, and some is moderately priced but makes some of the best western gear sound cheap. Do LOTS of homework on brands... also check for tube rolling options, and always check the cost and availability of upgrade tubes. The tubes in these cheap options are often a little below grade... but not always.

I have heard that the Russians can also make a fair tube amp as well, but in Australia we don't get to see any of them. They are supposed to be popular with some Europeans though.

Tube gear should sound fantastic. Do not accept bad sounding tube gear.

My one word of warning. Be careful getting into Tubes... you can quickly end up having a complete valve system, only ever consider more equipment if it has tubes poking out the top of the case, and remembering that Solid State gear sounded good, but you realise at the same time that you will never go back.
 
The more I think about it the more I'm sold on getting a tube phono pre as a starting point.

Would I connect it to my receiver in a line input or to my amp? I'm assuming to my receiver so my sub would be used also, correct?

Mr. Lin, I've always respected your comments in other posts, what was the first tube phono pre that you tried? I looked at the web site for your Wright pre, and it's a bit more then I want to spend before I get a feel for what the sound is like from tube gear. Was the sound night and day better?

NotSure, do you have any brand names of Chinesse tube gear to look at?

Thanks all
 
I’ve had very good experiences with a small Chinese company called Little-Tube. They initially began manufacturing tube headphone amplifiers and are thus better known on other forums such as Head-Fi.org, but all of their units are functional preamps.

Here is their current lineup:
http://www.little-tube.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=193&posts=2&start=1

I use one of their older units, a Little Dot II+ with my Yamaha M-2 Solid State Amp and the combo works wonderfully. It’s hard to beat the prices as well.
 
Tube Rolling: could it be like an easter egg roll, where you and a buddy take your best tubes out onto the lawn, push them with a spoon to the end line, and whoever is first gets to keep both, or, could it be getting out the old package of ez-widers (tubes will only fit in ez-widers) and rolling them up like you did years ago? I suppose this is how you smoke-check a tube......
 
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