Brother Love Posted December 17, 2022 Posted December 17, 2022 I.ve had solid state hifi gear since the mid 70's. My current system is not top end kit but it is good stuff and it serves me well. I read a lot of the hype about tube amps so there must something to them. I've been reading reviews of the various tube kit available & it seem to range in price and performance so where does one start. I'm going to start easy with little steps. I wont waste my time or money on the crap I see on Amazzon in the sub $200 bracket, so I decided to start with the TubeCube7. It is rated well as a starting point and I have a brand new pair on Klipsch RP-600M's just waiting for an engine. The Klipsch are supposed to be easy to drive so hopefully they will pair well with the TubeCube 7. This should give me a chance to see what all the fuss is about, do a little tube rolling whilst I research what I would want in a more serious tube amp. I've been looking at the Willsenten R8 and I just started looking at the Yaqin MC-34L amoungst others. Being retired and on a fixed income I will proceed with caution. I am also going to poke around and see what others think of the various kit available in today's market. I've barely scratched the surface of what must be found in this site alone. The way I see it this ought to be fun and isn't fun just the best thing to have? I'm not one to reinvent the wheel so all suggestions are welcome. 1
xlr8or Posted December 17, 2022 Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) There are a couple of things to firstly consider before committing to any tube amp purchase. These include your speakers and their sensitivity, nominal impedance and phase angle change across the full frequency range (20-20kHz), and the listening room environment, its dimensions and your listening position from the speakers. Also, are you seeking to purchase a kit to assemble or a fully assembled unit that is ready to go? Also, would you consider 2nd hand over new? If you can provide this information, in particular the speaker information, then many here can recommend the most suitable choice. Edited December 17, 2022 by xlr8or 1
gollux Posted December 18, 2022 Posted December 18, 2022 I'm not an expert by any means, but I've been on a similar journey for the last year. Having used solely solid state in the past, I picked up a tube headphone amp earlier in the year, the Ampsandsound Kenzie Encore: it really opened my mind to what tubes can bring to a system. As @xlr8or says, I think gear pairings are quite particular, especially with tubes, so what you need will depend on your circumstances. After experiencing the Kenzie, I also changed the amp in my stereo system to tubes, using the Line Magnetic 518ia. Again, I found that it made the music come alive in a way that's really special. I used it with the tubes it came with for a while, but I eventually changed the input tubes, which brought another level of improvement. All of which is to say, my experience is that tubes are worth exploring! 1
muon* Posted December 18, 2022 Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) The Tubecube7 is 3.5 watts. Will it work with these speakers? The Klipsch RP-600M's are nominal 8 ohms and 94.5db sensitivity, but looking at stereophiles review they estimate sensitivity at 89.6db and the impedance drops below 4ohms at 200Hz. https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-reference-premiere-rp-600m-loudspeaker-measurements From the link. The Klipsch's specified sensitivity is an extraordinarily high 96dB/2.83V/m. My estimate was much lower, at 89.6dB(B)/2.83V/m, though this is still higher than is typical for a small two-way speaker. Fig.1 shows that the RP-600M's impedance magnitude (solid trace) remains above 10 ohms for the entire treble, which means that in this region at least, the Klipsch is very efficient, the speaker drawing significantly less current from the partnering amplifier than would a nominal 8 ohm design. The impedance is lower in the midrange and bass, with a minimum value of 3.5 ohms between 180 and 220Hz. There is also a current-hungry combination of 5.3 ohms magnitude and –42° electrical phase angle (dotted trace) at 128Hz, which suggests that the RP-600M will work best with tube amplifiers when driven from their 4 ohm output-transformer taps. Edited December 18, 2022 by muon*
Brother Love Posted December 18, 2022 Author Posted December 18, 2022 I'm setting this up in a corner of my basement, a 24' x 24' tinker space where I make stuff. I already have the Klipsch RP-600M's and I have ordered the TubeCube 7 so I see this as a starting point. I'm in this for the long haul so no telling where this journey will take me. I have read that the Klipsch speakers run better on a 4 ohm tap/setting on tube gear so I will also give that a try. Let the games begin.
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