Tube Buffers!!! Anyone using them here?

polkfarmboy

Well its always been 'to use or not to use' when it comes to the use of tubes. I got this lil grant fidelity buffer for $107 on agon last week and just thought why not hook it up today. I always thought the Krell 550 was a bit on the bright side and never wanted to invest or commit to a tube dac. Well problem solved! I have been running this between the perfectwave directstream dac and krell 550 and what diff. I like listening to tindersticks when my wifes mad at me as it helps me feel sorry for myself lol so I am intimately familiar with the songs and playing it now has earned me a new respect for the Krell.

Now I am wondering who has tamed a beastly musical component with one of these? I am running it stock so now I think, how bout some black bottle treasures or should I open it up and replace the caps inside to take it up a notch. If you have an integrated and want a lil something diff I really recommend getting one to play around with!

gudnoyez

I have read so many pros and cons on using tube buffers, some say only if you have a bias issue between your amp and preamp, others saying pretty much what you have just explained hoping to try one of the ifi one's that skips gonna send out for people to try out to see if I notice any differences with one hooked up.

polkfarmboy

There is an instant diff right away for sure. If you have the spare ic's laying around then its something you should try.

With the grant fidelity 283 mk2 buffer the volume seems louder and it has a sound thats more akin to a class A amp. I noticed the highs are taken down a tad butin a good way as far as the sound from the krell goes.

PSOVLSK

I had that same tube buffer. Excellent unit for the price and I second your recommendation to get one to play around with. It's actually one piece I really regret selling.

gudnoyez

So do you guys think trying a tube buffer out for one's first intro in to tubes is worth a shot or should one go straight to a tube preamp for that first try?

Polkie2009

Great post PFB, this is the unit that grabbed my attention a couple of months ago to try a tube unit in the mix without spending more than about $250.00 . Needless to say, having read many reviews on this unit and a few others ,I'm still keeping an open mind and will eventually end up with a tube buffer or tube preamp soon.

gudnoyez

Polkie2009 wrote: »

Great post PFB, this is the unit that grabbed my attention a couple of months ago to try a tube unit in the mix without spending more than about $250.00 . Needless to say, having read many reviews on this unit and a few others ,I'm still keeping an open mind and will eventually end up with a tube buffer or tube preamp soon.

That's got my curiosity I also want to try a tube unit in the mix be it a decent buffer or a preamp.

DSkip wrote: »

I think the iFi will be a great piece for you to try since it only costs you shipping to try it. I thought you were done going down that rabbit hole anyways...

The trip down the rabbit hole will officially end after I have experienced some kind of tubes in the mix. I hope it will end, does it ever really end?

voltz

You know my Vincent Preamp & amplifier are Hybrid's. My preamp has 2 tubes in the input stage and 2 in the output stage & my amp only has 2 in the input stage.

I always wondered if it wasn't just like having a tube buffer built in and maybe that is why I like them so much.

I'd give Skip's iFi a try and give up any thought of being out of the rabbit's hole!

Jetmaker737

gudnoyez wrote: »

So do you guys think trying a tube buffer out for one's first intro in to tubes is worth a shot or should one go straight to a tube preamp for that first try?

Yes, definitely. It was a Yaqin tube buffer that got me into tubes. Was an inexpensive and fun way to try them. Like PFB I could hear the diff immediately and liked it.

audiocr381ve

DSkip wrote: »

I think the iFi will be a great piece for you to try since it only costs you shipping to try it. I thought you were done going down that rabbit hole anyways...

Heard great things about the iFi piece too.

cnh

A tube pre is really more than just a tube buffer. But I do believe that a good tube buffer will or should give one a little more warmth-there is, of course, the synergy thing to consider as well. I'm pretty sure I would agree with PFB's take above if I heard his system.

Stew

A Yaqin tube buffer was my gateway drug. Followed by a tube CD player and tube pre.

OleBoot

Somewhere in my "put it in here and immediately forget about it" room, I think I have a Musical Fidelity X10-D from the mid 90's. I'll take a look. Maybe there's also a pair of 1957 Quad IIs I forgot about as well.

dhart86

Stew wrote: »

A Yaqin tube buffer was my gateway drug. Followed by a tube pre.

That was how it happened for me also

pearsall001

audiocr381ve wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

I think the iFi will be a great piece for you to try since it only costs you shipping to try it. I thought you were done going down that rabbit hole anyways...

Heard great things about the iFi piece too.

Everything you have heard about the iFi tube buffer is spot on...I can personally attest to that.

[Deleted User]

A tube buffer is really a cathode follower stage, which most classic preamps (Audio Research SP3a for example, or Marantz 7C) have built in. It offers the previous stage a high input impedance and outputs a low impedance with unity gain.

erniejade

I have been running a Yaqin I picked up from Pitdog2 after my W4S dac2 for a while now. It gives it some soul!

erniejade

I also forgot to say, when I ran a McIntosh 6900, I ran it between the pre out and amp in with fantastic results.

pitdogg2

erniejade wrote: »

I have been running a Yaqin I picked up from Pitdog2 after my W4S dac2 for a while now. It gives it some soul!

Which allowed me to upgrade to the yaqin cd3 that uses 6sn7 tubes....love it for sure.

boston1450

I run Yaqin cd1 & cd2 (thanks to members here) with great results. I roll different tubes ive got for different people here/online & enjoy them. Couldnt be more happier for the coin

boston1450

pitdogg2 wrote: »

erniejade wrote: »

I have been running a Yaqin I picked up from Pitdog2 after my W4S dac2 for a while now. It gives it some soul!

Which allowed me to upgrade to the yaqin cd3 that uses 6sn7 tubes....love it for sure.

. IIRC i got some Voskhods from you ?? I roll them with the Mullards i got from Mike & i tend to stay with those sets on the cd2. Love them. Big thanks to Mike as he set me up nicely with cd2 & ALOT of extra's & info & walked me through everything a couple years ago & he also ripped some vinly-2-cd's since then im now enjoying my tube amp & tube cd player & rolling tubes in it. Only bad part is i want better now.
Sorry to derail. Carry on

pitdogg2

Yep correct there great tubes IMO.

Msabot1

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

A tube buffer is really a cathode follower stage, which most classic preamps (Audio Research SP3a for example, or Marantz 7C) have built in. It offers the previous stage a high input impedance and outputs a low impedance with unity gain.

Exactly....

gudnoyez

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

A tube buffer is really a cathode follower stage, which most classic preamps (Audio Research SP3a for example, or Marantz 7C) have built in. It offers the previous stage a high input impedance and outputs a low impedance with unity gain.

Ken meaning? Will one make a difference in preamps that dont to some extent?

Timothy Smith

I started playing with tubes via a Grant Fidelity tube buffer. I lmmediately loved what it added. Stepped up through a series of better tubes, and the improvement was instantly noticeable each time.
Sometimes I would settle down to listen and thought my system sounded flat. Each time I noticed that I had left the tube buffer turned off. Switching it on, the magic returned.
That convinced me to buy a series of tube preamps and tube integrated amps. Sold the Grant Fidelity tube buffer, but probably should have kept it.

[Deleted User]

"Ken meaning? Will one make a difference in preamps that don't to some extent?"

That's a good question and I'm not sure there's an easy answer. What one might be doing is allowing two components (a preamp and a power amp, or a CD player and a preamp) to communicate better. If you look at the classic Audio Research SP3a the phono section has a cathode follower stage after the two tube gain stages. Then the line level section has a cathode follower after the two tube gain stages. So when playing a record there's two cathode followers involved in the final sound.
With all the confirming opinions, on CP, about the sound quality they can provide it seems to indicate their sonic benefits outweigh the addition of extra parts/circuitry in the signal paths. If you look at the Dynaco PAS3X it doesn't have a cathode follower circuit in the phono stage and it doesn't sound as good as the SP3a, in my opinion. I'm sure there's other things that contribute to that, but it is interesting.
I would recommend trying one and see.

machone

How long does a typical tube last?

erniejade

A long long time. 2-5000 hours depending on a lot of things.

machone

DSkip. 6SN7

tonyb

DSkip wrote: »

Depends on the tube.

....and the operator.

doctor r

Small signal tubes (9 pin and/or octal base) can last between 5000 and 10000 hours depending on the curcuit they are I used in. Power tubes have much shorter lives.