Tubes Rule!

Do NOT be a solid state FOOL!

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." (Abraham Lincoln)

"Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent." (Napolean Hill)

LK, care to share with us how much your Audio Research and VAC units cost?

Is it tubes that rule - or money?

Hello, I bought these used as new ones are exorbantly overpriced.

One question: Are they "overpriced" or "expensive"? I don't think those words mean the same thing. "Overpriced" implies that they cost more than they're actually worth, while my sense is that there are pieces of equipment which cost a lot and are worth every penny.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bestbang4thebuck:
[QB] "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." (Abraham Lincoln)

I could be wrong, but I credit the above qoute to Samuel Clemens

Good catch! I wasn't sure, but I also thought that quote was from Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens' pen name).

Depending on where you look, a little research reveals that the quote is attributed to Lincoln, Clemens/Twain and several others, each apparently having a version of the biblical 'Proverbs 17:28'.

http://www.quotationring.net/mailarc/msg00363.html

These days when you consider buying Vacumn Tube equipment, the costs are high. I use the Outlaw/Anthem for Surround and I use the ARC/VAC for music.

Both ARC and VAC are high end Audio Manufactures so you get much better musical playback.

IMHO, in order to get the true musical SQ, you need to use vintage Tubes. Having said that, it is expensive to use tube gear. The cost of these two pieces is high yet I am lucky to have bought them used in great shape. The owner of VAC has welcomed me to the VAC family, esp. when he learned who I purchased the amp from.

With tubes, you do have to watch what you are doing and be careful. These is the reason why I have an amp and preamp form these firms that have great service records.

I do not like the sound of multi channel music, I prefer stereo. Movies and HD broadcasts sound great with surround. I am able to switch betwwen the two systems like this: I move the speakers cables from the Alons betwwen the VAC and Anthem amps and then IO switch the crossovers on the HSU subs, on and off.

I plan on installing a Marchand active crossover to give me better Sound for music.

More to come.

Tubes really are the best way to bring on the great sound!

I am going to get a Tube based USB dac to play music from my PC!!!!!!

Just curious…which tube USB DAC are you looking at? The Scott Nixon unit? The Wavelength Brick? I was researching for a while, but the prohibitive prices changed my mind.

Hi Tru Blu. What part of Brooklyn are you in? I am a member of Audio Syndrome, a LI, NYC based club.

I am waiting to decide about the tube usb dac. Scott Nixon is making a new one, I will probably look at that amd others too.

The AC power now that the hot wetaher has arrives SUCKS. I won't even turn on my system till the temperature cools down. Does you have this problem like I do in the burbs?

I'm not sure I can answer your question, Lizard King. My system seems to run just fine, but for comparison-sake, it'd be interesting to hear how you perceive the effects of heat and "bad power." My only complaint is about having to play music with the air conditioner hum in the background. Even the quietest a/c we could find can be somewhat bothersome.

A power supply in line level gear which is designed well enough will be largely uneffected by "bad power".

The volatge out here in the burbs (based of the indicator of the PF60) goes up to 126.5 and down to 105 within the last couple of days.

That should not matter in the least with half decently designed equipment. The high voltage is inconsequential, and almost all equipment can function reliably down to 90-100 volts AC.

Altec,

You seem to really know so much. The SQ this time of the year takes a huge hit. The heat from my Amp, HDTV makes my room so hot.

As I type, I am jamming to tunes on my PC. I am hoping to get a good USB DAC soon so I can play the tunes through the system.

I am now using A Bryston 10B-Sub active crossover. I took all the 2 channel gear off of the Belkin PureAv Pf60 and connected them to a Furutech E-T80 line conditioner. I then replaced the power cord going to the furutech with the might Omega Mico Active Planar cord (used)and finally, the noise floor is gone. Now the hot weather hasd passed and the AC seems better so SQ is improved.

I am still waiting for my buddy to finish building the Audio Note Kit tube preamp with USB input (Hagerman). I will use my laptop and play a huge library of music in lossles format going to the DAC.

My mindest has not been good lately so I use my PC via the M-Audio SPDIF going to the Outlaw 1070 and a jitter reducer. The SQ is surprisingly decent and that is what I am using till the DAC is ready.

Liz Out.

Tru-Blu,

Would you like to come to my Audiophile Clubs meeting soon since we are in your area?

Hey Lizard King. Possibly. Is it here in Brookland? Don't know if it's accurate to call me an audiophile just yet, but hit me with some details via PM. Thanx a lot.

Are you the former SH?

Yes he is.

Nice.

Great to have that level of knowledge here. Not that others here are any less knowledgeable.

I think it's reasonable to say that many others here are less knowledgeable - hard to feel bad about that deficiency, though.

Hello to all,


I have the New Dac is my system, testing it. It is almost done so I am breaking it in and I can tell you, WOW!!!!

The unit uses a NOS Dac (Analog Devices 1865N) chip and they employ a 1x Oversampleting filter.

The unit uses tubes in both the output stages and in the analog power supply. As I break it in I will use the stock tubes and then roll to my vintage tubes.

So far I am so pleased with the musicialty that I am rediscovering my CD collection.

More to come.

I have changed the output tubes from the Electro Harmonix 6922 to Mullard PCC88 tubes and notticed a deeper perspective and better LF reprodution. The euphic coloration is reduced and the balance is better, esp. when playing classical music like violin.

Later on I changed the regulator tube from a Russian to a 1962-1965 NOS Mullard ECL82 tube and the sound qulity was even more refined. Most music sounds detached from the speakers and the perspective is deeper.

DC sounds better with tubes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality

People have varying views and ways of viewing.

This thread actually points out a couple of interesting things. One, different tubes do make a difference in the sound. This has been carefully explained and demonstrated to me by a colleague and my brother-in-law, both quite knowledgeable in electric guitars. To me, this indicates coloration introduced by the reproducing equipment and is not representative of sound quality except where it is used for the particular sound attributes desired from a musical instrument, like the electric guitar. This brings us to the second point, that different people have different definitions of sound quality. What sound quality means to me can be entirely different from what it means to someone else, and what sounds good to me, might not sound good at all to someone else. The important thing is that YOU enjoy what YOU hear. If that's "tube sound", that's fine with me, but please don't consider me a fool because I don't have your same appreciation for that sound.

Happy Listening,
Bill