tubes or ss?

[sberger]

so i'm a new heresy owner as of saturday, and already am in love. i use a tube pre, but a ss amp. i looking for pro/con advice as to whether i should go the full tube route(thinking about a bottlehead or decware set amp) since the heresy's are so efficient. i'm pretty happy with the results im getting with the tube/ss combo, but wonder what i'm missing. i have a pretty nice vinyl rig, which is what i primarily listen to(although cds still get played as well) and wonder how going to low output tube pre would enhance the enjoyment. on the other hand, i'm kinda broke these days and wonder if there are others here who could comment that are using simliar rigs to mine.

thanks in advance,

cheers!

[Deang]

With the Heresy's, stay away from low power, zero feedback options. The Heresy is very SET unfriendly. What amp are you currently using?

[Randy Taylor]

Dean,

I use my Heresy II's with a Mcintosh 225 or a Pilot 232 and a foreplay preamp and have always wondered what the Heresy II's would sound like with a set of Bottlehead mono blocks, but you are saying they wouldn't match up well?

[codhead]

[edwinr]

Whether the amplifier is tube or solid state is a matter for you. Just make sure the amplifier is well designed and well balanced in sound. I tend to like higher powered amplifiers, be they tube or solid state, rather than the lower powered SET variety. But that's a matter of personal choice. I admit many tube amplifiers look great in the dark - and they can sound pretty good too.

[sberger]

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On 4/10/2005 2:14:13 AM DeanG wrote:

With the Heresy's, stay away from low power, zero feedback options. The Heresy is very SET unfriendly. What amp are you currently using?

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my primary is a sim audio i-5, although while it's in the shop for a few days for a checkup, im using a nad c370. with vinyl and a tube preamp(bottlehead foreplay) i seem to get the best of both worlds, but i've never had speakers as efficient as the heresy's,(my usual speakers are totem acoustic model 1 signatures, with 88 db sensitivity) so i'm tempted to try an all tube set up. the major concern i have is getting enough power when i do, err, want to rock(i'm 48, overweight, grey haired, etc, but still like my loud music...go figure).

i will say that in the 24 hours since i got the heresy's, they've started to nicely break in. i don't think they were played for a long time, and things definately sound warmer then when i picked them up yesterday.

anyway, thanks for your comments.

[sberger]

well to a chance and ordered the new decware taboo single ended pentode amp. 6 watts. hopefully it will give me a decent introduction to low power tube amps, and if i don't like it, i have a 30 day return policy. but im really looking forward to hearing it in my system combined with vinyl. should be fun.

[Deang]

You won't need the 30 day return policy. You'll be using the 3 hour return policy instead.

[Erik Mandaville]

Good luck with your new purchase! This 6 watt Zen amp looks to be well-layed-out and put together, although the pictures don't show any of the inside wiring. It might be a really great sounding amp! Stay positive or at least neutral until you hear it for yourself.

Erik

[codhead]

[fgarib]

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On 4/11/2005 5:50:42 PM DeanG wrote:

You won't need the 30 day return policy. You'll be using the 3 hour return policy instead.

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Dean,

You're being most cryptic.... why? Just curious.

-F

[Audible Nectar]

Dean's not being cryptic - I think he is being straightforward here.

From what I've read about those units, there are certainly better options available for the money. Use the 30 day policy, and if possible, make an effort to get alternative amps in your system (or hear other amps on like speakers) before the 30 days is up. Direct comparisons would do you good here, if you can arrange to make that happen.

You might think the Decware is good - until you start running direct comparisons against other amps. I haven't heard the Decware gear, but in researching a similar issue for a friend (has Cornwalls currently), I'm reading that there are MUCH better offerings. I would probably go vintage here (Dynaco made some nice amps that rebuild very nicely, like the stereo 70 for example).

[Royster]

I used the 6 hour return policy. I thought it was a nasty little amp. I also tried the tude phono section from DECWARE. It was even worse. I am sure that some folks will like them, just not me, in my system. Steve (owner) at Decware is one of the most closed minded, pompus, ect, owners that I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

Good luck, I hope that it works for you in your system.

[sberger]

just to be clear, none of you guys have tried the taboo amp yet, cause it just came out. if you tried the zen, you're talking about 2 watts. the taboo has 6 watts. big difference. as far as liking my music loud, yeah i do sometimes, but more often then not i have to play at very moderate levels due to family and small house. i guess it all boils down to the type of sound you like and what you're after. i thought about getting a classic, but frankly i'm skeptical about rebuilt units. you might get something great, or somebodies headache. and as i'm no tech, i was looking for something that would be trouble free(hopefully), reasonably priced, and have good feedback about them(you can read as many good and bad things about decware as just about anything else). and yes, i wanted low power(although maybe not too low...)to see how they would do with the heresy's. the taboo, at least on paper, fit all criteria.

and, they do the 30 day thing, so absolutely nothing to lose here. i'll still have my ss rig if things don't work out.

anyway, thanks for the feedback.

[sberger]

and one more thing. my foreplay pre has 20 db gain, so i think there's going to be plenty of juice to run the taboo.

[Deang]

With 6 watts, you'll get roughly 1 watt of clean power. With his penchant for over-rating his amplifiers, you may only end up with a 1/2 watt before clipping. It's good you don't listen loud, because 90db or so is about going to be it.

[sberger]

dean, just so i'm clear are you against all low power tube amps, or only decware? the heavy majority of feedback in various forums(including this one) has been in favor of using tubes, and especially set's, with heresy's(or similiar efficient speakers)but obviously your experience was different. you also seem to have some kind of grudge with decware which i'd like to know more about.

[3dzapper]

http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/files/5popcorn.gif

[codhead]

[Deang]

"Dean, just so i'm clear are you against all low power tube amps, or only decware?"

I'm no more "against" low powered tube amps than I am "against" seafood I don't like. I understand a lot of people like Lobster, but I just as soon avoid it. Since I primarily listen to Rock and Alternative at moderate to high sound pressure levels -- I have no use for anything that puts out less than 30 wpc. Since dynamic peaks typically go 5 to 10 times higher than steady state, I believe there is a strong relationship between power and the cleanliness of the reproduction.

"The heavy majority of feedback in various forums (including this one) has been in favor of using tubes, and especially set's, with heresy's (or similiar efficient speakers)."

I like tube amplifiers quite a bit, and have owned plenty, though experience with SET is limited to the Welborne Apollos and the Wright 3.5's. I think SET is best served by being run with speakers that have smooth impedance curves. Klipsch speakers don't fall into that category unless you move to a constant impedance network. Of course, if you don't care about flat response from your amplifier, it doesn't matter.

I have no grudge against Decware, it's just that in the time I have been around here, they haven't been favorably received.

No two people hear quite the same thing, or are trying to get the exact same thing out of their systems -- so it will be interesting to see what you think.