Tubes.

rubin

Would a tube buffer such as Musical Fidelity x-10 v3, placed between a cd player and preamp do just as well as a tube cd player.

reeltrouble1

depends on the player. I did it for a couple years with a Denon and had very good results. If you have a so-so source it will flush the mids out and help with make the treble a bit more liquid. Its a good product.

RT1

heiney9

It's a start and they have good resale value when you're ready to get a tubed pre-amp, etc. Beware, once the tube allure starts, it's almost impossible to resist. I know, I now have 4 tubed pieces of gear and over 100 tubes for said pieces. My journey wasn't a slippery slope, but more of a crash landing

H9

Conradicles

Rubin, with all that bass you have...you may blow up the tubes LOL!

Jetmaker737

Whether it would do "just as well" is a good question. I must admit I have no idea if the "impedance matching" function of a tube buffer is equivalent to the tube output of a tubed CDP.

Source would be critical as mentioned. I ran a Yaqin with my old source which was nothing to write home about (Oppo 980). The Yaqin improved the sound substantially. I was very happy with it. I later picked up a Jolida JD-100 tubed CDP which was a clear improvement over the Oppo/Yaqin.

I wish I still had the Yaqin. I'd like to try it in line with my tuner.

Dawgfish

I'm running a Grant Fidelity B-283 tube buffer with Mullard tubes between my Denon 2900SACD player and my Anthem tube Preamp. It does a good job of adding some of that tube soul and takes away some of the digital sterilness. My CDP is an Opera Audio CD-120. I run it staight to the pre without the buffer. I've tried it with and without the buffer and it seems to sound slightly more detailed without the buffer, but the difference is very subtle. The OA CD-120 is a very "anologue" sounding CDP to begin with, so the addition of tube buffers does not add as much as it would if the CDP was more upfront and forward. It just goes to show as the others have said, it depends a lot on the source.

megasat16

heiney9 wrote: »

know, I now have 4 tubed pieces of gear and over 100 tubes for said pieces. My journey wasn't a slippery slope, but more of a crash landing

H9

P P P P P.....Remote P...A lot of soul things can be traded for a Remote P.

megasat16

rubin wrote: »

Would a tube buffer such as Musical Fidelity x-10 v3, placed between a cd player and preamp do just as well as a tube cd player.

A couple of years ago, I asked the same question here in CP about Tube buffer thinking the same thing you asked.

The responses were that Tube Buffer aren't going to sound as good as Tube Pre and an extra stage added in the chain. So, a good tube preamp or a Tube CD Player / DAC is probably a better choice than using a Tube Buffer in between the pre and the CDP / DAC or amp.

rubin

Installed the MF buffer and noticed a layer of edgyness/harshness was removed. My cd player is the Arcam 73

heiney9

Tube Lesson #1

Always clean the pins before using. Not so much if they are new production tubes, but even then a little Caig DeOxit and Pro-Gold are worth it.

Clean pins make a huge difference in noise. I just realized that again a few hours ago. Rolled in a pair 52 year old tubes and they were popping, hissing and noisy, etc. Cleaned the pins with the above and dead silent now. I forgot, but the old tubes reminded me.

H9

rubin

heiney9 wrote: »

Tube Lesson #1

Always clean the pins before using. Not so much if they are new production tubes, but even then a little Caig DeOxit and Pro-Gold are worth it.

Clean pins make a huge difference in noise. I just realized that again a few hours ago. Rolled in a pair 52 year old tubes and they were popping, hissing and noisy, etc. Cleaned the pins with the above and dead silent now. I forgot, but the old tubes reminded me.

H9

Thanks!

reeltrouble1

In the beginning there were tubes and all grew wise from the knowledge of the warmth, the liquid and the fire and it was good, then came the time when the lost wandered in the dark through a wilderness of sand where they lay edged with the cold and the harshness set down upon them, until once again they found the fire in the warmth of the bottle, and all was surrounded by the light and the sound was once again heard throughout the land.

Tubes Rule.

This must be the place.

RT1

organ

That will give you some tube sound. Don't limit yourself to the MF. There are a lot of good buffers out there. With the MF, you're stuck with the same sound. It uses a tiny triode tube that is soldered directly to the circuit board. Other buffers using tubes from the 12*7, 6DJ8, 6922, etc will allow you to tube roll. This is good because most people add tube buffers to get some tube sound in the system. When you can roll, you can tune the sound to your liking which is a BIG plus IMO.

You can also try the buffer between your pre-amp and amplifier. The advantage in doing this is that the signal from your cdp->pre-amp is already high (2V ref.). The signal between the pre-amp and amplifier is much lower. Placing the buffer there can sometimes strengthen the signal a little and give you a more ideal imp. match. Experiment.

Tubes are fun. Enjoy.