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Going into Tubeland...


Deang

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... and was just curious what some of you think about that.

I will be using the Anthem AMP1 with 40 watts pushing my beloved RC7's and I truly have no idea what to expect.

I mainly did it because I already have the Anthem Pre1lL and CD1, and at the time I bought them I could not afford either the Anthem tube amp or the hybrid design they make.

I recently ran across the AMP1 at a fantastic price and could not pass it up. I'll still have my Luxman M117 200Wpc SS amp and I figure if I disappointed with the 'punch' factor I can always biamp - using the Anthem on the horns and the Luxman on the woofers.

At any rate - what is the verdict? Are the differences in tubes vs. SS overstated?

let the flames begin Smile.gif

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deanG

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yes, they are!

the differences are really hard to pin down, my first impressions of my little Paramours on my big old horns was that I liked the details of the background sound and the texture of the notes,

my second impression was that they couldn't crank as loud or play bass as solid (they have about 1/5 power of my SS amp),

my third impression was that "little miss sensitive ears" liked them much better right from the beginning -

but when I compare my 40 year old mono tube radio with its ragged looking speaker and pitiful EL34 amp to the sleek Pioneer and Infinity set-up on loan in my office, there is no comparison -

my friends don't hear it , or they don't care, but to me the old tubes are much more luscious and rich, with the texture of a sax versus a clarinet -

just like my main system, I use the Pioneer equipment to bring in the bass and the treble; I set the tube radio volume first, then dial the Pioneer in behind it, with bass and treble controls turned up to the max,

the old Blaupunkt handles the crucial mid-range the way that Billie sang the blues, and the new system adds the boom and sizzle -

is there a difference? Oh yes, because many speakers can not be driven by tubes very well, or at least not the tube amps that you and I can afford, but super-efficient horns are driven by tubes easily, and with the same aplomb that Bush addressed Congress, they know what they are doing,

and while the differences may not jump right out at you (say, that even-ordered harmonics does sound good!), it doesn't wear out your ears either, your listening sessions may grow longer, your enjoyment in the hobby may last longer -

is there a difference? Oh yes, tubes turned me onto stereos, tubes is where many tweaking audiophiles end up

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horns, tubes, subs, leather couch & female vocalists

This message has been edited by Colin on 09-21-2001 at 11:10 PM

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deang,

I'll be very much interested in your satisfaction factor using the Anthem Amp 1. I do hope Chris Robinson posts some comments here as well. I'm aware that he's using a pair of them to power his front and rear speakers. I'm considering a pair as my future long term amp additions. The pair would power my front and rear Cornwalls. Please post comments and findings!

Regards,

Wes

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deang,

During the past couple of years, I had been experimenting with various amplifiers to try and get the best sound out of my system. I had been trying SS amps exclusively. The champion ended up being a Jeff Rowland amp. This was the best amplifier I had heard in my system. As you may know, Rowland amps are considered to be among the best (if not the best) SS amps made. They are also very expensive. The sound was wonderful. It was very smooth, no harshness at all. Of course I had been hearing all of the talk about tubes, so when I came across a deal on an Audio Research VT-50 tube amp, I decided to give it a shot. Well, to make a long story short, the VT-50 is the new champ of my system. The Rowland was sold and I am now a believer in tubes. I plan on replacing my SS preamp with tubes. I am also considering bringing in an SET to challenge the VT-50.

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Jeff Rowland makes some of the very best solid state amps and preamps.The sound quality is awesome,and what about the built quality!The built quality is second to none.Not cheap,this is why I ended with Krell,still a sonic masterpiece less the overboard build quality,not to sy Krell is cheaply built.LOL

Simply Jeff Rowland is built with Swiss precision.

And Audio Research is indeed a special and legendary brand,I have the LS25 tube preamp and all I can say is I dont regret my purchase,even if I had to save plenty of Canadian dollars to get one. Smile.gif

Another brand that is right up there with Jeff Rowland,Krell and Audio Research is BAT.Balanced Audio Technology makes some of the very best tube preams and amps.And they have a line of awesome solid state amps(monoblock and two channel)as well as the new VK-6200 super HT amp.

And yes SF tibe amps and preamps should match very well with Klipsch speakers,as well as all the above brands.

Heck even the large Krell and Celeste do wonders to the RF-5's!To me using the RF series with a reciever no matter how top shelf is wasting the true potential of the larger Klipsch speakers.

TheEAR(s) Now theears

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Oh Yeah!

Colin sums it up real good!

I can't ever imagine changing my present rig. I don't think IMHO there could possibley be an "upgrade"!!!!!!

Sweet like pancakes with hot syrup, not like a crunchy, day-old over-glazed donut!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frantic Frank

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Sonic Frontiers; line 3SE, Power 2SE.

Monster 2500 pwr. cnt

Sonic Frotiers SFCD-1

Wire World Equinox III,

Nordost Blue Heaven intr. cons.

Kimber 8TC spkr. cons.

Lascala's W/Al K networks

Sanus stands (2). one mildly nurotic Rat Terrier

mothballed;every thing else!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

considering your web site, I would say that some hearing loss is quite possible, but even so, the differences with tubes are really hard to pin down.

My first impressions of my little Paramours on my big old horns was that I liked the details of the background sound and the texture of the notes. My friends don't hear it, or they don't care, but to me the tubes are luscious and rich.

The differences may not jump right out at you (say, that even-ordered harmonics does sound good!), it doesn't wear out your ears either, your listening sessions may grow longer, your enjoyment in the hobby may last longer.

One of the reasons that I like tube amps is because, with the right speaker, they can give you a short-cut to some of the more musical qualities of very expensive equipment.

If you have an SS powered sub-woofer, that will really help with the bottom end. Tube amps are notorious for inaccurate driving of the bass speaker (something to do with the impedance). Even a low cost $250 sub can make a big difference in your system. Especially if it frees up your choice in tube amps.

But tubes aren't for everybody, so keep us posted (pun intended)...

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horns & subs; lights out & tubes glowing

This message has been edited by Colin on 10-05-2001 at 09:49 PM

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