Craig6519 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Does anybody use tube amps in their HT setups? I know how to do it but wouldn't hooking a tube amp to a SS reciever or pre-pro defete the purpose of using tubes? I've seen it mentioned here that you should always use a good tube pre amp to get the best effect with tubes. I ask because I was thinking of picking up another ST-70 or possibly a pair of mono tube amps and moving my existing ST-70 to rear channel dutys. Thanks Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 The AVR pre/tube amp combo may not be ideal compared to tube/tube or even the reverse but it does seem to improve my AVR's sound with a richer tube sound. I've been watching movies with the ST-70 connected to my outlaw AVR for the mains. I've also tried a Carver C500 250w/ch connected to the Outlaw and I've used the Outlaw alone. I like the Outlaw/ST-70 combo the best. I've really enjoyed the rich sound of the DTS Eagles HELL FREEZES OVER on the Outlaw 1050/ST-70 combo--including the 5.1 DTS SEVEN BRIDGES ROAD. I haven't felt the urge to put other amps on the surrounds or center. I use a Heresy on it's side for center and have used the Heresy inverted for a few months as well. I'd like to use a screen/projector with all Cornwalls. The RPTV glass pulls the image forward on music which isn't ideal in 2-channel but I"ve thrown a blanket over the screen to help at times. I've also compared a Denon 1802 to the Outlaw alone. The 1050 is notably heavier, more powerful and more detailed than the 1802. I've read it sounds closer to the 3802 in 2-channel direct...of course it has a lot fewer features than the 3802/3 and even fewer than the 1803. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 i use a dynaco sca-35 tube amp for my mains (klf-30's) in my home theatre and the internal amps for the center and surrounds.... as mentioned above, right now i really don't see a great need to get tube amplification for for the rest of the channels.... the tube amp works great for home theatre but it was mainly purchased for 2 channel use.... i highly recommend using a tube amp for your mains .... esp. if you use your system for music listening as well as home theatre.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 for a while I used tubes in my HT... first, IMHO it does not defeat the purpose of tubes by having a pro/pre in front of them, the tubes still add thier "goodness". second, again IMHO, the biggest argument against tubes in HT is the maintenance issue, you could end up with dozens of tubes (my Dynaco MkIV HT would have 24 tubes to watch/care for!). I also tend to think it depends on the mix of music/movies you plan for the system. 60% to 100% movies? stay with SS all around spend the money on a great 5 channel SS amp, or reciever. use the ST-70 in a bedroom or office system. 40% - 90% music, and you crave the tube sound? tubes are an option. Though I do not like the idea of mixing tubes and solid state in a full HT system becuase I want to make sure, as much as possible, that the tonal qualities are matched all around the speaker circle, throwing ss/tubes into the mix makes that harder. IF you use SS for the surrounds and sub and tubes for the front three that would be the least problematical mix of SS and tubes in an HT. best of luck, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Irony of all irony here... Just as in audio, setting up the monster HT rig brings out the lowest common denominator movies to HEAR the bombs, car chases, gun blasts, clicking of action, etc etc. Watching Pearl Harbor via ye olde HT is a BLAST, literally. Up pops Tomb Rader... My mind goes adrift amidst the sound... Throw on The Graduate, Five EAsy Pieces, Annie Hall, My Left Foot, Cinema Paradiso, Midnight Cowboy, You Can Count on Me, and suddenly you have the ultimate snap, crackle, pop of rain drops and over accentuated siblants in dialog. A simple drop of a book suddenly takes on TOO MUCH significance. HT has always bothered me in that it is like an amusement park ride. Before you HT freaks get all worked up, I will add that a REALLY NICE HT with good amps and a balaced setup can really add to the MOVIE experience just as in a theater. I just seem to prefer the movies that dont take advantage of ye olde special effects. The parallel with AUDIO is the contingent that uses their audio systems the same way. The modern AUdiophile has come to procuring musical dreck to better hear his system properties, despite the ultimate lack of musical worth. I still have my audiphile approved stack of CDs to "show my system" to those afflicted. And damn if it doenst work. But for the love of pete, this stuff is musically BEREFT as noted in another post. Wander into the local HIFI hut and look at the stuff lying around. Using music to HEAR your system turns into an ugly affair when you find yourself listening to stuff you would have never DREAMED OF when you had your Pioneer receiver. To get back to this thread, I have an online buddy that actually has a full SET system HT rig!!! heh... HE uses KR 2A3 in MOTH amps. Of course, he is mentally deranged but sometimes that's a good thing. I find some of the best SS can do HT well. Still, for music, most HT systems are horrid. On the other hand, throwing some vintage beefy PP in the mains could be fun, ala EICO HF-35, Quicksilver, etc. Acually, I just figured out the best use for an Audio Research tube amp! heh kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 I was thinking the same thing, I am only one MkIV short of a vintage PP front three, I could use my old ADCOM GFA-1A for the surrounds...hmmmm...could be a plan...tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 "Using music to HEAR your system turns into an ugly affair when you find yourself listening to stuff you would have never DREAMED OF when you had your Pioneer receiver." I have understood this for 20 years. As a teenager those that got into HiFi seemed to drift towards "audiophile" recordings that highlighted the gear and sound quality was a key selection criteria. Too often I heard people play recordings from studio musicians that were basically test tracks of jam sessions from studio muscians. Today I even find myself wanting to hear some audiophile acoustic recordings to test how "real and live" the instruments & voicing sound. Gear is changing by listening habits. Instead of listening to my live AVENGERS recordings on the Klipsch I keep this kind of stuff for the car. Some of this is good as I appreciate classical more with good hifi and I'm finding an interest in expanding beyond rock at this age. HiFi and my current open mind towards other music is a good fit. I heard FooFighters on a $20k system and while it sounded good and different, I couldn't justify that level of system if all I was going to hear was heavy rock. I like FooFighters just as well in the car. Those that have grown acustomed to heavy rock on good hifi probably can't regress and will highly disagree with me. As for MOVIES...most new releases have sound that benefits from HT...Frida sounds great...stupid comedies have rock tunes, etc. Old movies don't need it but if the HiFI highlights problems I can always turn off the hifi and listen to the RPTV speakers. Some movies are even just fine in 2-channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 ---------------- On 9/4/2003 9:56:27 AM mobile homeless wrote: Throw on The Graduate, Five EAsy Pieces, Annie Hall, My Left Foot, Cinema Paradiso, Midnight Cowboy, You Can Count on Me, and suddenly you have the ultimate snap, crackle, pop of rain drops and over accentuated siblants in dialog. A simple drop of a book suddenly takes on TOO MUCH significance. Kelly, Knowing your taste in movies, I will now give more credence to your perspective on audio gear ! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 "Knowing your taste in movies, I will now give more credence to your perspective on audio gear!" Lordy. That's lovely. For some strange reason, I thought I had earned a bit of respect in this place after nearly 4000 posts, most in pretty decriptive detail, many concerning tube gear from vintage to modern, all topologies included. But if it takes listing some fine movies, so be it. Thanks. I will give more credence your way as well as you are probably the only one here that has SEEN all those movies! heh... kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Can you imagine a "surround sound" release of "One, Two, Three" or "Beat the Devil?" If you haven't seen both of these films at least 3 times you don't know sh*t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Good lord, Allan. I havent seen "Beat the Devil" in about 25 years! What a cast! Just doing impersonations of the cast would be amusing enough. But yeah, I dont think too many here have seen that film either as it's not a heavy rerun item on TNT..heh. Good writing, though, this on a rather esoteric subject as well. I am not the biggest Bogart fan in the world for various reasons but his character in that is classic. And the damn lines are GREAT. Classics. As for "one, two, three," another great but I have not seen it three times. Try once. AGain, great cast and director. And MORE excellent lines. You a Wilder fan? I dont know about your last line, though. You pushing it, probably after listening to "Jazz at the Savings & Loan" one too many times. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 I really have to watch it three times??? http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/01.29.98/beat-devil-9804.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Just kidding about the "3 times!!" "Beat the Devil" is an amazing film---I can just imagine homophobe machismo laden John Huston holed up with Truman Capote night after night turning out these pages in a drunken, delirious state. The best line in the film is when someone questions the heavily German accented Nazi named "O'Hara" (played BRILLIANTLY by Peter Lorre) about his name and he calmly stated "there are many men of German extraction in Argentina who go by the name O'Hara." Another great line occurs when Bogart and company help push a stalled taxi up a hill and when it gets away from them just over the crest and falls about 500 feet into the ocean (the film was shot in Capri) the cab owner turns to Bogart and says (in a heavy Italian accent) "Restitution! You must make restitution!" Bogart snaps back "you fat bandit, I BOUGHT YOU THAT CAR!" The driver responds "no matter how I came to own the car, you must make restitution." Rent it tonight! "One, Two, Three" is the most frantic film Billy Wilder ever made with tour de force performances from Cagny, Arlene Francis, Pamela Tiffin, Horst Bucholz, Hans Lothar and many others. I don't think a funnier film was ever made by anyone at any time--I know that might seem a crazy statement, but I've seen it about 50 times and I never, ever tire of it. Wilder is my favorite director and this and "The Forture Cookie" are his two masterpieces as far as I'm concerned, with "Stalag 17" not far behind. Rent it tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 I've only seen "One, Two, Three" once so I guess I don't know sh!t. We already knew that though. My sony does a fine job with movies for my liking and I have no desire to plug in the scott for movie watching (I'm a 90% 2-channel music person anyway). I'll save my tubes for music. Those who like music videos should probably take advantage of tubes for the fronts if they can. I won't even try just in case I like what I hear. Does that make any sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 "many fine people of german decent have come to be known as O'Hara in Chile" oh and btw "how I came by it does not make it any the less mine" is what the driver said... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Good Show!!! I knew I was wrong on those quotes from "Beat the Devil," but I got the spirit right!! How about "Tell me again about the icomparable Miss Hayworth" or "A man in your postion should have BOTH!" or "Mussolini, Hitler, those were men of vision!" or "I believe I've developed a chill on the liver" or . . Oh hell, I could go on and on. It's a fabulous film and think I'll have to watch it again tonight! It's been 4 or 5 years since I've seen it last . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 OK. Name the film, the director and the actor who delivered the line--I may be off a LITTLE bit on this one too, but if your familiar with the film you'll have no trouble! "I sure do hate to be the one to tell you this, Dad, but your daughter Louisa's been out on the beach all night with that Rio fella. Came home lookin' kind of messy, too." First one to chime in with the correct answers gets a NM condition Curtis Counce LP on Contemporary Records with postage paid anywhere in the Continental USA. Foregin participants will have to pay the postage if they claim the prize!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 The Muppets Take Manhattan I'll email you my address. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 I Love Louisa? heh... Either that, or "Bedtime for Bonzo" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 "one eyed jacks", directed by marlon brando and rio is played by marlon brando, luisa by pina lellicer...tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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