Cheap "Tube" stage?

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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited September 2010
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    FWIW, my 7As don't like any of the vacuum tube amps I've tried on them very much. They actually do sound better with soiled state amps (believe it or not).

    I can believe it to a degree. My M7A's love tubes. Surprisingly enough they like lower powered EL84s and 6V6s better than 6L6 or EL34s.
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited September 2010
    I've tried tube buffers and you can change tone and smooth out some rough spots with them.
    I have a selection of IC cables I do the same thing with. I have certain cables that are darker and some that are very bright. I have to use brighter ones on Mark Levinson gear. IF I don't they're very bland sounding. Others I have to use the AQ I got from Toolfanforlife recently. The AQ Diamondbacks filled a gap in cables nicely.
    Cables can have as much of an affect at times as a tube buffer.

    I better edit in here that buffers are cheaper than some cables. LOL!
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  • phillokit
    phillokit Posts: 2
    edited November 2010
    It's hard to build low cost vacuum tube gear. High voltage power transformers for tube gear are pricey and good power amp tube output transformers are very pricey. There are some tube products that operate off low voltage but vacuum tubes really need high voltage supplies so the tube can swing enough voltage to provide a clean signal.
    Does adding vacuum tubes to an existing solid state audio chain make any difference? yes it does. I proved this while working for a FM radio station in Baltimore several years ago. In front of an Optimod processor I placed a home built broadband slow vacuum tube AGC unit without telling anyone. Shortly afterwards I started getting comments on how good the radio station sounded. A music consultant driving through Baltimore stopped to see me to see why we had such a unique sound. His jaw dropped when I showed him the back of the rack with tubes glowing. :smile:
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited November 2010
    HB27 wrote: »
    I can believe it to a degree. My M7A's love tubes. Surprisingly enough they like lower powered EL84s and 6V6s better than 6L6 or EL34s.

    I'd have to say I enjoy my 6V6 based rig a little more than the EL34 based rig, but they both offer a lot.............just different on my 5B's in the secondary rig. It's a LOT of fun messing with lower powered (around 12 wpc) tube integrateds and tube rolling.

    6V6 is push/pull w/passive vol control

    EL34 is single ended class A w/passive vol. control.

    H9

    P.s. Tubes all the way on the 5B's
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited November 2010
    Hello Phillokit,
    Would that station have been 91.5? They sound excellent!
    Regards, Ken
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  • phillokit
    phillokit Posts: 2
    edited November 2010
    Station in Baltimore was 106.5 WWMX or as they called themselves back then W-MIX. This would have been around 1991.
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited November 2010
    hey Organ can you believe it..........oh well.

    The OP should read the Harley article from TAS that just came out, a very good short primer on sound. The tell in his case is the "weak and thin" sounding.....the 9's tweeters is acceptable so not the culprit, designers who can't get the treble right attentuate it resulting in this "thin" sound.....add gain and it gets harsh, a tube buffer is a bandaid but this rig needs some thought, remember you are using a speaker inherently meant for use in a Home Theater.

    So bring it on like Donkey Kong and have fun along the way.

    RT1
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited November 2010
    Ah, thanks for the info.
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited November 2010
    you know sucks mentioned an integrated with tubes.........I kow you wanted to keep the yammer.......the Manley Stingray is great sounding and high on the looks factor, nice design with very short signal paths.

    RT1
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited November 2010
    FWIW... I wish EveAnna "Vanimal" Manley made a push-pull EL84 version of the Stingray; the PPP configuration of the Stingray is, to me, a somewhat inelegant approach to have one's cake and eat it too (i.e., the sound of the EL84 with oopmf approaching a PP EL34 amp).
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited November 2010
    The vanimal......good one.

    I used the Stingray for a couple years, with speakers rated at 89db or more it is very solid, I had some of the early Amazings I think 86, big speaker where it would run out of steam at high gain, excellent on Polk Lsi and SDA 1C. Now take the bottom off and holy cow.......not exactly the cleanest mish mash of wire or circuit for sure, but the paths were very short which was her point in the actual shape.

    RT1
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