kvetcha
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t mess with tubes unless you have equipment that would benefit from it.
Totally Tubular: The Tube Thread
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I wouldn’t mess with tubes unless you have equipment that would benefit from it.
bshikari
Active Member
Steve Guttenberg does peak very highly of some cheap chinese tube amps (e.g. ). I don't have any of them, but I've considered the small investment to dip my toes in the tube world.
Maybe someone in this forum has tried them and can say more on them
Chinese Hi Fi gear is hit or miss. I would not recommend any if the of the “no name” brands like what’s posted above.
If you want a really good tube amp relatively inexpensively, search out JoLida amps. I owned one for years. They are well built (not PrimaLuna well but rather for the money). They sound really good and are reliable. Preowned, they are really affordable.
@kvetcha bought one and is happy with it.
I know the amps very well and can help if you have issues. Otherwise JoLida (now Black Ice Audio) is based in Maryland and can help.
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
I am very pleased with my JoLida, aside from some issues with the volume pot not turning up via remote. It sounds fantastic.
basically the only reason i was thinking of it was because of sennheiser 6XX/58X and getting a cheap headphone amp like the little dot to use on my turntable and get a better sound
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
stick with the Schiit Magni plan
i was wondering about magni or liquid spark.. both are pretty damn good
and the liquid spark doesn't have a wall wart
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
It doesn’t have a wall wart but it does have a large external power supply.
I’d go Magni just because a) it looks nicer and b) it’s more powerful, and the Sennheisers drink power.
tomheo
Member
Hi,
I bought a Darkvoice headphone amp as a cheap way to see what the tube sound is (I'm hooked now). I started messing with tubes and after doing some research and bought a NOS JAN RCA 6AS7G. I notice it wiggles when I hold the glass envelope and the base. It's very slight but will/can this affect the longevity? I don't want the thing to catch on fire or anything!
I found a couple of threads on various forums and didn't see anyone telling the OPs to just leave it alone; they suggested either acetone or clear nail polish to fix it. I've found some illustrations on tube anatomy and it looks like I should be OK leaving it if I'm careful when installing/uninstalling?
Thanks!
BTW, I'm listening to it now on the Sennheiser HD6XX and it sounds amazing (switched out the stock tubes with a NOS Tung-Sol 6SN7 GTB & the above RCA tube).
I bought a Darkvoice headphone amp as a cheap way to see what the tube sound is (I'm hooked now). I started messing with tubes and after doing some research and bought a NOS JAN RCA 6AS7G. I notice it wiggles when I hold the glass envelope and the base. It's very slight but will/can this affect the longevity? I don't want the thing to catch on fire or anything!
I found a couple of threads on various forums and didn't see anyone telling the OPs to just leave it alone; they suggested either acetone or clear nail polish to fix it. I've found some illustrations on tube anatomy and it looks like I should be OK leaving it if I'm careful when installing/uninstalling?
Thanks!
BTW, I'm listening to it now on the Sennheiser HD6XX and it sounds amazing (switched out the stock tubes with a NOS Tung-Sol 6SN7 GTB & the above RCA tube).
tomheo
Member
Just a follow up in case anyone has a similar question in the future...the wiggling is gone. I'd read on a couple of forums that sometimes with NOS tubes, using them (allowing them to heat up/cool down) will reseat the glass envelope to the base. It's super solid now!
Dylanfan253
Active Member
I just added a tube pre amp to my setup. The pre amp is my first piece of gear that utilizes tubes and was hoping for any advice anyone may have as to proper usage procedure so to speak. I use it for home theater as well as music so it’s on a large portion of the day. What would the lifespan of the tubes themselves be, they are all pretty inexpensive which is a positive but would like to be prepared for when they need to be replaced.
Small signal tubes usually last years. When they eventually go bad, they tend to get noisy. You’ll know. Depending on tube type and brand, you can buy good quality tubes for $15-50 each. Each tube will sound different from brand to brand, so you can use the tubes to tailor the sound to your liking.
Also in general terms, I tend to dislike Chinese tubes. Russian tubes tend to sound far better.
Dylanfan253
Active Member
Thank you, I assume because it is Chinese made that it has Chinese tubes so that is good to know. Could you recommend a couple online retailers of tubes that are well regarded.
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Dylanfan253
Active Member
Thank you, missed this one in my notifications.Analog In
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Dylanfan253
Active Member
Also just realized the volume knob on the new preamp turns farther then I thought, can you turn the volume up too high on a preamp ?
Splunders
Well-Known Member
Only if you think it will damage the speakers (or your hearing). A preamp's volume knob is essentially a power limiter, aka attenuator, which merely puts the brakes on your amp from running fully open - unless you turn the volume all the way up.
At its most basic purpose, a preamp is there to control the volume (the degree you might need to turn that knob up relates to the power of the amp and the sensitivity of the speakers involved) as well as allow multiple inputs to be selected for use (phono vs. CD vs. Tuner, etc)
My last preamp amp combo was pretty weak (no preamp gain with 8 watts per ch amp), so I had that sucker cranked to 11. My current preamp has gain and my amp has 36 watts per ch, so to achieve the same volume, I might get closer to 3 o clock tops. My speakers have gotten more sensitive as well, so I need even less juice.
From there, a preamp can serve as an ingredient within the larger sound of your system to tweak to your own taste. Some folks prefer a tubed preamp in order to provide some warmth to an otherwise clinical presentation. Or maybe a solid state preamp to counter too much syrupy-ness that a tube amp may bring. These are very stereotypical examples, as not all tube implementations are "warm", nor is all solid state lean or cold, but I think you get the point.
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Dylanfan253
Active Member
Ok thank you I am always absorbing as much as possible so I really appreciate the detailed description, I hope to over time come to learn how all the components and what they are made up of operate. I like to crank it a bit because I feel that’s what gets the best out of the ELAC’s so it’s nice to know I turn it up higher. I presumed that the knob had a much shorter range of motion and with being new to the tube gear I didn’t want to overdo it.
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Dylanfan253
Active Member
@Splunders I think my preamp may not have any gain, none the less I’m still able to achieve the listening levels for music that are satisfying so it’s all good for now.
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Splunders
Well-Known Member
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