Moderators dtel Posted December 8, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 8, 2012 OK I think I got it now ? [] Well using just the pre-outs should work, the only thing is how would the difference in amp power work ? They would have to be close enough so the adjustments in the receiver could get the volumes set for Ht, don't know about how that would work ? If the tube amps had volume controls it might help if you were using just the receiver for the rears, but with the Emotiva it would be a big difference in power compared to the tube amps. Hopefully someone knows more than me and can help, good luck it's a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plissken99 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Hmm good point, it shouldn't be a problem adding volume control to the amp he builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 8, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 8, 2012 But the problem would be the other way, with the the XPA being 200 wpc and and tubes maby 50. I don't know if it's even a problem I have never tried that before, two different size amps ? Not trying to be a problem just trying to help, although I could be confusing things, wouldn't be the first time. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 This is why I was thinking of a bi amped system might work better. But I don't for sure, after your pre amp you would then run to the active cross over like the Behringer ULTRA-DRIVE PRO DCX2496, then 3 tube mono blocks for the horn section, and 3 channels of Emo on the bottom end. I know there are alot of techs around that could explain if this would work properly but that is how I would think it might. So you would get that tube sound on the hf/mf, and solid state for the lower end. But I wouldn't think that the surrounds would need to be as hot as the fronts. So maybe a good tube amp would work just find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plissken99 Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 But the problem would be the other way, with the the XPA being 200 wpc and and tubes maby 50. I don't know if it's even a problem I have never tried that before, two different size amps ? Not trying to be a problem just trying to help, although I could be confusing things, wouldn't be the first time. You may be right, but I don't think so because the little 15wpc tube amp hooked up to my system was LOUD, even when the amp itself was turned to half volume. When we hooked the solid state back up and played the concert, I had to turn the volume up more to get it as loud as the tube amp. Tube power is different than solid state, 30wpc in tube power is like 100wpc in solid state, from what I've always heard anyway. I'm just hoping 50wpc tube is a fairly close match to 200wpc solid state. But in case your right about the levels being inherently missmatched, a volume control might be a good idea for the tube amp, if only to turn it down because it should be more than loud enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 9, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 9, 2012 Could be right, hope so, I guess it would depend on if the receivers adjustments can make up for different volumes from either amp, may not be a problem at all ? The very worst that would happen is you end up with 3 tube amps which is not a bad thing. You could always some way set it up as a separate way to drive the front three, there has to be a way to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BE36 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Both 2 Channel music and 5.1 movies sound awsome with tubes. Trick is getting the right amps and tubes in a good system. Solid State can sound great also trick is getting the right amp in a good system. The main reason I like tubes is by changing the brand of tube the sound can tweaked to my system and personal preferance rather than what the designer thought my room is like and what I like. Some say tubes lack bass, that is based early McIntosh amps etc., VRD amps do not lack bass and have more bass then my neson pass Adcom Solid State amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plissken99 Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 I dunno if my reciever has it, but the auto MACC calibration deal it has... if I could run the calibration with both solid state and tube amps in place and have a second set of settings for it, that might be just the ticket. I'll investigate if it can have more than one calibration, like User 1 and User 2 kind a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plissken99 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 This might be a dumb question, and I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner. My front 3 speakers are bi amp capable, 2 sets of terminals, currently connected to each other. Is it actually possible to connect 2 amps directly to the speakers for exactly the purpose I'm talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Are you sure your hearing that tubes are what you want? No offense, but Emotiva is about the most "budget" solid state out there. I can tell you that a 15 WPC tube amp won't sound better than my vintage rebuilt McIntosh MC-250 solid states. Been there, and moved to the solid state amps for my multi-amp system due to maintenance. I have an "almost tube" sound. Close enough for me. Tube amps, especially 5 of them (or more) are just too much to maintain. You'll be messing around with it too much, and just one retubing will cost you a fortune. I have a tube amp for music listening and use a tube pre and s/s amps for multi-amp system. For my DAC I have a tube buffer...............which has been suggested above. They work very well. But you need to be sure it's the tubes first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plissken99 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 None taken, at the time was the most logical thing per my budget. I had bought a $1400 Denon reciever with all the bells and whistles with 125wpc, but a guy on AVS forums suggested returning it, and buying the Pioneer 1120 reciever with all the features, and the Emotiva XPA-5, both costing around $700 at the time, and it was the best move I ever made, sound was dramatically superior to the Denon. And I know there are better solid state amps, I just have no way to demo them in my system. All I know at the moment is that little 15wpc amp we hooked up made it sound more like being at a concert than the Emotiva. Yesterday he brought it back over and hooked at up to try a movie(Batman Begins), and it sounded kinda neat, but wasn't right. The sound effects had a nice bright realness to them, however when background music kicked in, it... didn't blend well with the soundtrack somehow. It's like the amp reacts differently to music than sound effects and dialog, in action scenes dialog was completely drowned out. So I am 100% sure the tube amps will be for music and concerts alone. As for looking at better solid state amps, thats a whole other can of worms that I can't afford to open, even if I wanted to at the moment. My buddy can build these tube amps at cost ya see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 One of the big problems we all face is the eye candy on the net, plus other audiophile's comments. It's difficult at best to ever audition equipment before purchasing. Nearly impossible to audition in our own systems. A little dice rolling..........we all have to do it at some point(s). Not a simple solution to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Can't say it's the first one out there....but here's a 5 channel tube amp for 5.1 use. 12 watts per channel and a 20 watt sub channel. with horns, that should be plenty. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Music-Angel-MINI-5-1-X5-Surround-5-1-6P1-Tube-Integrated-Amplifier-/310403538102?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item48457e1cb6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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