tuned4life Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 any feedback would be much appriciated. up until now my thought has been that i dont qualify for the tube experiance. the main reason is this. i have signifacant hearing loss in my left ear. my right ear is still pretty good i think. these are a few of the things i can't hear with my left ear that i can hear with my right. phone ringing, alarm clock going off, rain hitting the roof. wind blowing through the trees. i would want to find a marantz 8B, 7C, and 10B. i dont want to do it unless i can experiance what so many talk about. im not a high roller and would have to sell of some much treasured audio stuff to fiance it. my wife and i are going to burn our morgage at the end of the month and i thought the 8B,7C, and 10B would be a nice way to celebrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPTORMAN Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 If you can hear ss gear, then you should be able to hear tube gears. Can you hear music?? If yes, then you should experience "TUBES". If not then there is no point buying TUBES or SS. Besides, the Marantz your planning on getting---if your not happy, there will be a line up of buyers waiting for it. You know how many times I bougth from ebay and sold back for more $$. Life is too short, don't deprive yourself of good music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Of course you would benefit Tuned. Although your hearing is slightly impaired like many of us here, it is after all the best you have. Why not have the best sound possible? After a tour in the USAF as a jet mechanic, building hot rods, years of hunting and shooting, I can garantee you that my hearing is far from the best. When the forum convinced me to go tubular, the difference was distinct, beneficial and added greatly to my audio to my enjoyment. I can't comment on your choice of amps, I'll leave that for others. Congratulations with the Mortgage. Enjoy your freedom! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazytubepower Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I will make a bet saying I have some of the best hearing, being 15 and never listening at high volumes, my mom says i cant hear though. Anyway get tubes, you can hear so you will hear the differance. You could hear enough to get klipsch! Rock On! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Hi, I believe anything tubes could do, SS can do better and more efficiently. Regular maintanence and adjustments aside. "This member has not specified a system." - eyyye matey, what treasures would one might have for sale? Does the wife know of these plans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Doug, The way you phrased some your comments about your hearing loss makes it sound like you have not had a professional diagnosis. I would strongly urge you to do so. PLease make an appointment with a doctor (ENT -ear nose and throat specialist). They will work with an audiologist to get you taken care of. Hearing loss is sometimes treatable and further hearing loss is frequently preventable. Please take the time to do this. Good luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I think a good comparison would be how well you can distinguish between different pieces of solid state gear. If your hearing allows you to appreciate the improvements of one SS amp over the other, then you will be able to hear the differences/improvement of tube equipment. On the other hand, if you have trouble distinguishing between gear, your money may be better spent elsewhere. Maybe a new TV or projector setup if you're into HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Get the Marantz gear. I'm sure that you'll hear the difference with one good ear. It also looks so great and you'd always be able resell it for what you payed for it (or more) in case you decide that it doesn't justify the costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I know people w hearing loss who appreciate tubes, even on cones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardsweb Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I would suggest borrowing a tube amp to listen to with your system. This will let you know in no certain terms what tubes do or don't do for you. You could borrow from a friend or even home audition from a retailer. Another option would be to pick up a small tube amp to play with. That way if you don't care for the sound you could sell it and if you do like it, sell it to upgrade. Many dealers will even take it in on trade. Personally, I find tubes offer a sound that no SS amp under $10K can come close to. They are two different worlds, apples to oranges if you will. Point in case: I have gone to a Carver A760x good down to on ohm to drive my electrotats. We're talking 1100 watts per channel at 2 ohms. Well when I got my Shanling SP-80 amps they drove the CLS's fine and they are only 50 watts. So you really can't compare solid state watts to tube watts. Oh and by the way, the tube made the electrostats come to life. Very nice indeed. Also, realize with efficient speakers you don't need big watts. I drive my Altec A7's with some 2A3 mono's at only 3.5 watts. Granted a little more doesn't hurt, but just wanted to point out you don't need some mega watt (read mega expensive) tube amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I has SS then went to tubes, then returned to SS. While I found some aspects of the tubes very nice what I could afford in them did not provide me with as good a sound as SS. What I did was get the best USED SS components I could find. That includes all sources as well. So I've ended up with a system that has top-of-the-line equip from about 5 years ago. All but my DAC is SS and it's better sounding and cost less than buying new tube equip. Oh, my hearing ain't all that grand either. Good Luck 2 U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Marantz tube gear is a blue-chip investment. It will never go down in value--especially if you are patient and wait for the right deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 ---------------- On 8/22/2005 10:01:26 AM oscarsear wrote: Oh, my hearing ain't all that grand either. ---------------- Well, that explains a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Douglas, you would not be wasting your money on tubes. You will still be able to hear a difference, and the money is worth it. The good news is that if you take the tube plunge, you are thinking in the right direction - and contemplating one of the gem combinations: 7C/8B. I have a very nice Marantz 8B that I run with my Belles (with a modern tube pre), and I have heard the 7C/8B combination. I have owned different tube amps and have heard various SET and PP combinations, and to me, the Marantz tube sound is truly a unique sound. One that I truly love. In my opinion, the hype and reputation of Marantz tubes are warranted. Oh, the sweet, sweet sound.... especially the midrange. And as others have mentioned, Marantz tube gear is an investment. So, you can always turn it around down the road if that suits you. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 ---------------- On 8/22/2005 7:44:32 AM PrestonTom wrote: The way you phrased some your comments about your hearing loss makes it sound like you have not had a professional diagnosis. I would strongly urge you to do so. PLease make an appointment with a doctor (ENT -ear nose and throat specialist). They will work with an audiologist to get you taken care of. Hearing loss is sometimes treatable and further hearing loss is frequently preventable. Please take the time to do this. ---------------- This is the most important advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Piranha.....I'd be happy to have you over. You can listen to Accuphase SS VS Cary tubed to the 9's. I got the Accuphase used for $1000.00 less than the Cary and it's array of tubes. Now it maybe that I chose the wrong tube product, but I'm certain some would argue otherwise. The Accuphase was among the best SS made, when it was newly manufactured. The best Cary made when I bought it was in the 10's of thousands...way beyond me. The comparison drawn the is the finest in USED SS versus what that $ would buy in NEW tube stuff. It is quite likely that USED tube gear for similar dinero would give excellent performance; perhaps even better. I did not have the value of this forum when searching for my tube adventure...my loss guaranteed. But the poster asked a simple question and I gave an accounting of my experience, such as it was. I'm extremely happy with my system now and to be honest wished I'd gone this direction in the 1st place....something I think this poster should know. Regards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 must take speakers you will use under consideration for any expected improvement. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 ---------------- On 8/22/2005 10:44:48 AM oscarsear wrote: Piranha.....I'd be happy to have you over. You can listen to Accuphase SS VS Cary tubed to the 9's. I got the Accuphase used for $1000.00 less than the Cary and it's array of tubes. Now it maybe that I chose the wrong tube product, but I'm certain some would argue otherwise. The Accuphase was among the best SS made, when it was newly manufactured. The best Cary made when I bought it was in the 10's of thousands...way beyond me. The comparison drawn the is the finest in USED SS versus what that $ would buy in NEW tube stuff. It is quite likely that USED tube gear for similar dinero would give excellent performance; perhaps even better. I did not have the value of this forum when searching for my tube adventure...my loss guaranteed. But the poster asked a simple question and I gave an accounting of my experience, such as it was. I'm extremely happy with my system now and to be honest wished I'd gone this direction in the 1st place....something I think this poster should know. Regards... ---------------- Thanks for the invite. Sounds like a lot of fun. I appreciate your kind offer and I will be happy to take you up on that offer if you're anywhere in So Cal? I am glad to hear you enjoy what you own. After all, that's really all that matters. Regards to you as well and enjoy the music whatever it may be powered with. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 ---------------- On 8/22/2005 6:42:41 AM tuned4life wrote: any feedback would be much appriciated... ---------------- It's good fun to experiment. I reckon you've earned the right to celebrate your mortgage burning with an system update. Your one bad ear has advantages. That's the one you turn towards your wife when she's having a nag at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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