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My tube setups not sounding as good as my SS

heekma said:
Ya know, I typed a somewhat detailed response to this, then deleted it.

oldblue--I just don't think we'll prolly see eye to eye anytime soon. And that's OK by me. Different folks, different strokes.

Then again, we're getting a bit off track from the OP.

The OP has some nice amps. I say keep 'em, try out speakers until you find a match you like, or if you don't, go your own way, maybe let the tube amps go to someone who wants 'em.



Peace,

-J
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Don't ever stress over me, I don't expect everyone to agree with me. Sorry about the jab on the tubes.
 
blue,

I've been accused of diarrhea of the keyboard more than once, and more often than not my brain kicks in before my clutch has anything to say about it.:thmbsp:

No hard feelings, no worries. I like hearing what others have to say when it comes to this particular hobby.:thmbsp:

Best,

John
 
shacky said:
I think there are two separate issues here:

A. Not really liking the Klipsch. They are great speakers they just don't seem to be my cup of tea. I had same reaction with NLA.

B. Though I like the allure of tubes, I'm finding I like big watt SS better. I'd probably be happier with tube pre and SS amp. But I'm getting close to throwing in the towel as I have too many nice SS receivers to try to displace.Not going to look to sell the tube stuff just yet. But that would be the next step. For now going to sell the Forte's.
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There is nothing wrong with what you like. The Grateful Dead used mountains of McIntosh amplifiers and it sounded pretty good to me. :yes:

There are no absolutes in audio. :thmbsp:
 
My good friend is mostly a tube man but recently rebuilt the very first addition of an Ampzilla he had in storage. For now it is running with his KEF's and he and i very much enjoy it during party/music sessions. I guess if it sounds right then it sounds right. Those big ole meters are hours of entertainment in themselves. :thmbsp:
 
Just to be clear - I listen at low to moderate volumes. I have some tinitus from an old fireworks mishap and too many rock concerts starting with what at the time was the loudest to date at Shea - GRand Funk and Humble Pie. About 8 years ago went see Santana at Darien Lakes with my sone. We were in second row. Good thing Carlos wears ear plugs cause I couldn't hear straight for a day.

So I want rich sound and definitely not bright sound. What I would call bright others would laugh at.

But I want real beef in the bass. I don't mean distorted overdriven bass. Just nice clean bloom with meaning. And SS seems to give me that in the low listening I do. I think the loudness button, damping factor, and headroom all combine to do what the tube amps I have can't.

Every once in a while I'll turn on the tubes and hear the magic. But then when I switch back to SS I'm thrilled even more.

I'm Bi-Polar Audio - I know.
 
Fast_Eddie said:
That is exactly what I did.
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+1:yes: Low distortion in high frequency range of tube amps is splendid, on the other hand, they take their hat off to SS amps as for very low output impedance in low frequency range. :thmbsp: IMO, hybrid amplifying will be the answer
 
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I'm doing a biamp setup for my next set of speakers, which will be a homebuilt combo of a handbuilt crossover, 15" woofer (parallel twin transmission line style port) and coaxial 12" mid with a tweet in the middle. I will power the 15 with an SS 100 watt amp for bass, and leave the ST-70 in place for the mids and highs. It was already suggested you try biamping to get the sound you like- if you know you like the sound of SS bass, what are you waiting for? More opinions? :scratch2:
 
Shaky,

Sounds like you like SS best and should stay with it. If it works for you...it works. :yes:

Maybe look for a set of used Cardas Twin Link IC's. They are not expensive and will warm up SS and you will still have plenty of bass. :thmbsp:
 
Well my Forte's - Eico have been redeeming themselves. I was away for a couple of days and when I returned I had volumes 1-4 of the DG Beethoven Bicentennial LP Collection from Sideways.

Rather than get into any comparisons I just hooked the Eico up to the Forte's. Still using the Sui 9090DB as source manager so it's the Sui phono section.

Wow :banana: What scale, soundstage and impact :tresbon:

Of course I'll have to compare with SS and AR's but boy does this sound great. My wife even said - "you're not selling those Klipsch" :yes: OK honey for you I'll delete my thread in Barter Town :D
 
Continue to be impressed with the Eico - Forte combo :yes: I was playing PRI this afternoon while working. All of a sudden it felt like the room was shaking. A Ravel classical piece was playing in all it's glory. Impressive.

Classical music is absolutelt stunning on this set up.

Good old classic roch ain't bad either. As long as it's a quality recording otherwise it gets shrilly. Johnny Winter's Progressive Blues Experiment sounds great. As does Ten Years After A Space In Time :yes:

:music: :tresbon: :thmbsp:

Sorry I was dissing my tube sound earlier. Hats off to Narodow for his great work in this Eico HF-81 :yes: :thmbsp:
 
Tubes can do it

shacky said:
I have two tube setups and one coming:

Fisher 683-A Consolu pull with 7591's (use Sui 9090DB as pre)
Eico HF-81 recapped with great shape Baldwin (Syl) 6BQ5's
Zenith console pull SEP 6BQ5 int (Robert1 restoring)

I love the concept and look of tubes. Problem is I can't get a setup to sound better than my SS Sui 9090DB/890DB, or Pioneer SX-950.

For SS I use my AQR 3a's and don't expect tubes to handle these monsters. So I have Dynaco A-25, KLH 23, and now a refurbed crossover totally redone set of Klipsch Forte's that I thought would be perfect with my Eico - or the Zenith amp Robert is working on.

Problem is every time I hook any of these up to my Sui or Pioneer I like the sound better. Better grip on the bass. I will admit I use the loudness contour so I know I'm getting more bass oomph than the tubes. But I just can't seem to get a setup I like with either of my systems - and it's got me wondering why I'm doing a 3rd - other than catching the AK vintage bug :D

So what is it? Are there SS guys and Tube guys and that's it? Or haven't I found the right setup? :scratch2:
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You need to google carver silver seven, check that amp out 1000watts into 2ohms. I dont know if you could even find one of these amps but man they impressive, they had 20 tubes in the output section!!!
 
Tube amps with very heavy NFB's bass sound reproduction is good as well. NFB will increase DF. I used to use Luxman LX-33/ el34 pp, but its maximun rated output power was nothing more than 15W/ch, which means a huge feedback. I remember its electric bass-guitar sound was impressive, strong and very tightened. This might be a hint for the airy bass sound of tube amps, I think. Still, IMO, tube amps are less likely to get oscillation that heavy NFB imposng may cause in case of SS amps.
 
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You are not alone, I do not miss my Sonic Frontiers 56Wpc tube amplifier. I am happy with my SS amps, which are cheaper, quieter, more powerful, and maintenance free. Sound quality? I go with SS again.
 
I have just ordered two Dynaco MK III mono amps with the KT-88 tubes , I was planning on using them on my main system driving the JBL,L7's, which is Channel 1&2 listening to SS on the L7's now with a Harmon Kardon PM665 or switch to the Inter-M 10.5. I wonder if I made the right choice with ordering the Dynaco MK III's, hope that it has enought power?
But I did switch over to tubes on Chan 3&4, that smoothed or taken the harsh sound out of the Klipich RF-82's. Channel 5&6 is the RF-83 Klipich sounded very harsh with SS, to I had to bi-amp and driving the horns on the RF-83's with tubes, a big improvement and the rest of the RF-83's are driven by the Inter-M 10.5 SS industrial amp.
I do know what you are saying, that tubes do not have that tight strong sound like the SS amps, but a mixture of both SS and tubes sounds good.
So I really hope that my Dynaco MK III's that are coming soon are going to be a good choice for my JBL,L7's main system.
 
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