fenderbender Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Some of my vintage Sansui SS is pretty hard to beat....though I wouldn't mind a Mcintosh MC402! If you don't mind TigerWK.....what CD player are you running? Not at all. When I went to that "other" brand of speakers I started hearing noise in my system that I never heard with K Horns. I spoke to Kevin Deal at Upscale and he recommended Musical Fidelity's A308 CR series gear for guys thet like tubes but don't want the associated headaches. First I bought their preamp, then the CD player and finally I replaced my Benchmark DAC1 with a Musical Fidelity A3.24 DAC. I also run a Musical Fidelity CD Pre 24 in my office. Great gear and very reasonably priced in the used market. I have not used their amps, they typically are not powerful enough for my speakers (except for the Kilowatt series), I use Bryston and Classe instead. My tube friend just loves this preamp too. He borrowed it for about 6 weeks. The A308CR CD player has so much detail and separation. Not harsh at all either. Really impressive. I have heard great things about the Music fidelity CR series....but haven't had the opportunity to listen for myself. I have been so into vinyl lately and I have just got a 1000 + + Lp/78 collection of rare and original Jazz from the 40's on ...that is in unbelievable mint condition......and I need to put it into digital format for the previous owner....he's old and I'm taking advantage [] just kidding... So I'll save it all lossless (can you say a few terabytes) and software correct it all.......then I'll start burning high quality disks....Then I'll need a better cd player to enjoy it all......well I could run it off my HD........Guess I know what I'm doing for the next 6 months at night!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I use SS preamp with a tube amp. Just use whatever gives you the best sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I have never supported Hitler or his special Nazi outfits. I like good music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 but they were so snazzy JB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I have to say I really enjoy the warmth that switching to tube gear brings. I just kick my feet up on top of my amp and it warms me through and through. Especially on a cold night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I have in 1985. And with my Hughes unit I can put incredible amounts of power in the 20-100hz section. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I have never supported Hitler or his special Nazi outfits. I like good music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Yes, went to tube preamp and SS amps in front. But, still have tube preamp and killar' tube amp in rear. Carl. P.S. SS amps can be more forgiving with different drivers (sometimes). Would not give up my tube pre though........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I have both and like both. I guess there is pros and cons to both designs, but the ss gets more use as it's cheaper to run for long periods (i.e., I'm not eating up tubes). Some solid state is very good sounding, and sometimes in the most unassuming designs. It's always about synergy and ultimately the sources listened to, but my Pioneer AVR is changing my thoughts on what solid state CAN do. In the end, choose what sounds best to YOU. Well said HiFi!! I have run my tube (AU-111, 6L6GC based, 45 wpc) through about every speaker I have and on some it sounds better than others. The best "tube" sound (just me and my ears...) was with a pair of Heresys. Just seems to "bloom" them out, so to speak (Reason? Who knows....). The SS's are the same way. They are all the same (old, vintage, fully restored AU-11000's), but even so, there are some minor "personality" differences between them. After "fiddling around" with them and testing each one with each pair of speakers, I finally "assigned" them individually to a pair. One seems to sound better with Klipschorns, while another makes Cornwalls sound better, another with Forte's, Belles, etc. There's also some psycho-acoustics involved. On a some days, I just really like one amp with pair of Belles. Other days, just so, so... and some days when I am stressed.... I just want to listen to Vinnie Mineoli's Ba-Da-Ding Orchestra doing the theme song from the Soprano's on the Heresy's through one of the SS's. Ok... I'll take the meds!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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