You folks changed my life. I called a bunch of retailers investigating amplifiers and they mentioned all sorts brands. When I spoke with Upscale they weren't going thru the motions, they were really 'into it" and took the time to explain things to me. I ended up with a PrimaLuna EVO 300 and a Sutherland KC vibe. I already had the Rega 6 and my mind was altered. Wonderful. I wish I could remember who I spoke to (User-14568), but he was a joy. Thanks Upscale.
Hearing for yourself is the key. A buddy had an old Prima Luna Dialogue One integrated laying around and let me use it for a few weeks. After hearing it in my system I thought I'd made a big mistake by having a SS integrated amp in my system. Adding a tube preamp improved the sonics of my system tremendously as Kevin suggested. Someday I'd like switch out to the Prima Luna EVO 400 pre/power.
You are a one of a kind Kevin Deal! I love your no-BS transparency. I wish I was in So CA and not No CA - and could visit your store and and meet you! Thank you for your hard work with these reviews.
Thank you so much for the straight talk. I don’t want to dive into the deep end. My grandpa introduced me to tube amps so I want to get an entry level tube headphone amp but I don’t want to refinance the house. So thank you for being honest and helping me sift through the fanatics.
I’m 60. I’ve always owned Marantz, Denon, HKardon, Yamaha receivers. Last year I purchased (my very first) cheap Chinese Tube pwr amp and preamp. $200.00 ea. I was immediately Blown-away by the purity, clarity of tube sound. Like nite/day. My JBL 4311’s produced sounds/instruments I’d never experienced. (Sometimes I pair a tube amp wit a solid state receiver) Tubes for life.
Hello. Just came across this video & your comment. I’ll check out what you purchased. Sounds like it really worked out. Your last comment (pairing a tube preamp with a solid state receiver) is EXACTLY what I’d like to try with my Pioneer SX 950. How did try that work out for you?
@@pancakelover1000 A Very Good mix. Whether it’s tube preamp with solid state pwr amp or solid state preamp with tube pwr amp it’s Good. I hear 👂 a difference. Clarity, nuances. People talking in background. Tube preamp with a tube pwr amp is Good. Solid state preamp - solid state pwr amp, Marantz my choice, has a tube sound.
Kevin, You are the best!!! I hope to meet you someday and thank you in person. All of you honest and heart felt education, its much appreciated. Great job!
Kevin, you are very much THE MAN! Your passion for what you do is intoxicating. Hell, I wish we had a High-end audio dealer like yourself in the UK. Irrespective of the price, I would order from you and only you if you were to open up in the UK.
Not completely true. Some of the best guitarists look for amps with the most clean headroom possible and use external drivers to distort. SRV, EJ, etc...... Dumbles weren’t loved for their distortion. It was the massive clean tone.
Uncle Kevin THANK YOU! Living in the puget sound u would think there all kinds of high end audio here! Well there isn’t. Get in touch and let’s do a store here. But on the flip side, I have always been a audio enthusiast. But your video have taught me so much more. Amps, pres, streaming, power, everything u can think of I absorbed from you and your staff.! Big Love from the Beautiful Cascade Mountains!
Interesting video kept me glued to my computer screen though out. In separates, I never did make out what you felt was the most important piece of tube gear to invest in. Preamp or Amplifier? This is just my two cents so take it with huge grain of salt. I would say the most important piece in my system is the tube preamp , over the amps. The way I look at it is the Preamp, is the Central Nervous System of my entire rig. My Amps are the Muscle. An excellent preamp allows me to get the most out of my source and amps regardless if they are SS or Tube. All that being said, so far the best sound I have gotten out of this system, is when everything is mated with an outstanding tube amp. Even the noise floor became reduced, when I switched to them. Dispelling the myth that tube amps are more noisy than SS.
I like Kevin. He's like my freind robs stereo store in Washington, "reference media" they aren't trying to oversell you, they are trying to start you on the right path and what you can afford as well as what your listening space is like. I can't understand the cheapskates that complain prices. There's so much stuff that's way out of my budget but I go to knowledgeable people to guide me to where I want i go and it's turned into a several year relationship and piecing gear together and experimenting. My freind rob is teaching me to start out slowly, and knows the best products at different levels and you build from there. My setup over the past 4 years includes the prima luna evo 300, Set of REL carbon specials, set of klipsch Cornwall 4s, rega p8 and project box ds phono stage. I didn't buy all my stuff from him but he is always giving solid advice on where I should take my build from there. Theater room is next and he's helping me with amps, big screen, pre amp.and room setup. He also does custom installs. My point here is of course they sell you products, but they also care so you the customer will be completely satisfied with your purchase and they are great guides to get your system of your dreams, and your budget to be the best it can be. Rob sold me a demo evo 300 and it was a revelation of beautiful sound and experience. Nothing like pure analog bliss from a great tube set up!
I am running the Schiit Freya+ tube preamp which feeds the Jeff Rowland 125 solid state power amp and I am very happy with the pairing. The Freya+ is my first tube amp.
Do you get that tuby sound from the system? I am in the market for freya+ tube preamp and a strong SS power amp like Rotel 1582.Not sure if the tube preamp stage would provide the absolute tuby sound that the tube power amps have.
@@marcusaurelius2988 well, many have remarked at how great the Freya+ sounds in tube mode. I use it only in tube mode. I am not an expert on the tube sound but I am more than happy with my pairing. I think a tube preamp with a solid state power amp is a good pairing.
My bass amp has a tube and solid state input and solid state output, but with stereos it's a chain; the system sounds as good as the weakest link in the chain. I've also had a small solid state Marshall that when driven hard using an HM-2 box with volume cranked and distortion turned off sounded to me as good as a tubed one, and I now also have a tubed B-52 guitar amp. It also sounds great. I remember decades ago solid state guitar amps would stink when overdriven and tubes were the way to go, but with all the advances in electronics and emulation, I can't swear I could tell the difference if adjusted correctly. I even have pedal boards for my bass and guitars that I use to practice with using headphones, and they sound good. If I ran them into the input of the effects channel I doubt if anyone would know they weren't listening to hard-driven tubes. If both pre and power amps are well made. I doubt I could tell the difference.
My first time viewing your channel. I like it. I like you. I can tell you are honest. I recently fulfilled something on my bucket list. I finally bought a Macintosh 2 channel amp, the MC462. Something about those blue meters just makes the music sound better at least to me, playing through Cornwall 4. I’m in the market for a preamp as it’s currently driving the Cornwall as LR speakers in an Atmos system with a Marantz 8802A. When I listen to just music I feel as if I’m not getting all the Mac has to offer and have been thinking of a tube preamp.
I love you man!! Of course you’re selling, but I love you shooting us straight asswell!!!! I’ve seen you recommend less expensive products, and let it be known some things are worth the cash! If you’re ever in Nashville I’d love to burn the fire and jam tunes!!
Ya, I had some tube gear the Audio Research SP 10 and 11, but have been mostly a Rowland/Krell Amp guy. I just got a PrimaLuna evo 400 yesterday- demo model and I am pretty floored Does so many things right- actually blows my Krell Evo 403 away in the mid-bass of all things, and stomps it in detail and holographic soundstage. Nice warm engaging sound. Glad I made the move! :)
Kevin is spot on. I'm a music producer guitar player. I have all of the best guitar amp modeling plugins. I love them for their convenience, and for getting a decent guitar sound on my laptop Pro Tools system when I'm away from the studio. But when I mic up my Marshall it just has a clarity that sits in the mix without being pushed up too loud. It's a subtle difference when you hear the comparison soloed but makes the world of difference in a full mix. The real tube amp just 'sits' in the mix, you hear all the nuances of each note. My personal theory on this is that tube amps maintain better phase coherence between the fundamental of the note and the harmonics. Furthermore, the harmonic distortion is changing dynamically in a more natural way, based on how I attack each note with the pick. Modeling gets close, especially the Line Six algorithms, but I generally just use plugins for laying down an idea. The final will almost always be an amp with microphones. Of course, the use of real microphones in a real room also contributes to the sonic information that helps the part "cut through" the mix. I have never heard a transistor guitar amp that I didn't immediately dislike.
Its a unique problem that's only an issue in guitar amps. Its the only type of audio amplifier that's driven to distortion on purpose. The fundamental problem is this. When a tube amp is overdriven and distorts, it sounds good (providing you actually want it to distort). A transistor amps sound terrible when they distort. And that's the problem. They have to come up with a way to make a distorted sound without overdriving the transistors. It's also the reason solid state guitar amps are typically rated for more power than tube amps. Everyone thinks the reason is that tube watts are more powerful than solid state watts. That's not the case. They make solid state amps more powerful because they can't have it distort, and that takes a lot of clean power to accomplish. That said, the people designing all these new solid state guitar products, should be very proud of the work they're doing. They've gotten amazing results trying to solve a very difficult problem. I don't think they will be able to fully duplicate the sound of a tube. At least not in the near future. I predict they will have to make a compromise. If they use some tubes in the preamp, and mate that with the best digital modeling tech they can come up with, and play it through a solid state poweramp, that may be enough.
Hi Kevin, I wish you would open a store in Sydney Australia. We could do with a honest operator and I might go into a hifi store. I’m a valve guy for my main system since the early 1980’s with Vacuum State preamp and a more up to date JLTi EL34 tube power amplifier from Custom Analogue here in Sydney, I could be happier. Love your enthusiasm and passion for audio and for what you do. Keep up the good work.
So, myself just getting into tube amps, am getting into it on the low end CE side. Starting off with a Nobsound 6P1. It's what I can afford at the moment. Right out of the box it Sounded pretty sweet. Better than my Vintage dump find Yamaha solid state amp. But not better than my Yamaha Aventage RX-A550. In which I myself am finding it hard to find something better sounding for under $1200. I'm sure there is. But Audio stores in my area have been gone for 20 years. It's Best buy or Amazon for me. That's sad to say the least! So, after noting it's problems, which start at the main transformer and end with rerouting the ground off the output tubes. I got what I paid for and then some. But what I ended up with is something I am proud of. I should have never bought it in the first place. But now, the hundred dollars in upgrades. It really is sweet sounding. The separation and transparency. Certain sets of speakers give off a holographic sound stage. And for being a 13.6W amplifier, pushes a set of Wharfedale D320’s pretty good. I love rock first and am starting to get into Jazz, Blues and some R&B (real R&B, not hip-hop). Most notably live albums. Even streaming through Bluetooth 5.0. The Motet, Live at Redrocks sounds so Amazing. What tubes do to the soundstage is quite amazing. The detail and depth I have never heard in the midrange is astounding. But this is a 300 dollar amplifier. When I pull the trigger on a 3000 dollar tube amp, I'm sure the difference will be night and day. Someday, someday.
What's most important is buying a great SS integrated that offers the sound of a SS power amp coupled with a tube pre-amp without the hassle of tubes !
My guitar playing son had a Marshall something or other. It was relatively inexpensive, with a solid state power section and a tube pre. As a Fender lover, and tube lover, I had to admit it sounded pretty damn good, especially when the cost was factored in.
Those marshall valvestates from the 90s are really quite versatile, not all solid states are crap, it's just that the market is saturated with crap ones
I live very close to youI Just discovered a nice record store in Claremont, and am thinking of replacing my old turntable. Can't wait till your store is open again. Btw, would be interested in seeing some videos of your home setup. Carrying those big speakers into that room must have been quite an exercise. Plus an all tube home theater sounds fascinating.
I started my tube journey with a very good hybrid integrated amp. I have finally achieved audio nirvana with a Bob Carver Crimson 275, a McIntosh C49 and Klipsch Cornwall 3's.
@@MrRourk The C49 has an excellent phono amp. You can also use an external phono amp with any line input. The Schiit Mani is an example which I have used and found to be very competent for the price.
@@MrRourk While the C49 is a digital age preamplifier, it has a surprisingly capable and adjustable dedicated phono stage that can be set up to handle just about any MM/MC cartridge.
Kevin, you said your Home Theater is all tubes. I know it's pretty rare to find multi channel tube preamps. What do you use? For power? Tube Monoblocks?
Hi Kevin, nice room with huge staff.. Can you please compare this pre-amp power amp combination with PrimaLuna integrated amp? One more question, are two poweramp required for this preamp?
I see a Sansii 1000A in the background. Is that a good way to get into tubes? Most tune components are out of reach for the average consumer. Restored Samsun 1009A’s are getting unaffordable too.
Yep!!! 60 now but into audio since 15. Child of the "solid state" generation so just missed valves. Tried a little cheapy tube buffer from China for £40 about 4 year ago stuck 2 vintage General Electric valves £6 each into it. Astonishing!!!! Made me overhaul my whole system Valve preamp XiangSheng 728a ( going to replace that with a DOGE Clarity 8) Valve phono Ear 834p Ruark Acoustic Templar 2 The valves sound gorgeous driving a 600w a channel class D power amp ( B&O Icepower As1200) Looking for a Valve DAC now and when my lovely old Arcam CD 33 pops off. I'll replace that with a valve CD player They just sound more natural to my ears Valves are king!!!!!! But hell those prices for older valves are creeping up and up and up.....................................
I would have never guessed you're 60. You post like 3 20 year old's. Anyway, I noticed you have an Arcam 33. I have one too. Its built like a tank. Honestly, I have better CD players that cost more money, but don't be so fast to give it up. Its just a great sounding player, and you can listen to it for hours without getting tired. If you sell it, you're going to want it back. Good transports are hard to come by these days. Maybe get a tube dac like a Prima Luna, and use the Arcam for a transport.
Hi there hope you are well, merry x mass, what does the Valve preamp XiangSheng 728a sound like? o also bought a cheap buffer from Alli express, but now want to upgrade . I saw that you have got h Doge clarity 8 which is a lot of money for me now, but I can treat myself to the first one you got. I also am considering a vacuum valve preamplifier. when I put my buffer through my quad 303 with my mark audio full range they sound nice, so I can only imagine spending on a much better valve prea amp or do you have any other recommendations from ali express?
I play nearly all my guitar clean and the tubes make a difference to my Vox AC30 with an AC15 add-on. I have an NOS Mullard EF86 preamp tube powering Harma retro power tubes. It makes a huge difference. to the tone from the original JJ- which are good tubes anyway. Maybe that's just in the Vox where Mullards were obligatory in early 60s models. The JJ was good, the Mullard brilliant.
GREAT video, and great topic. Sorry I didn't see this one until now. Lusting after that wonderful system. But I'm definitely not in that high dollar bracket. Glad you mentioned that some very good pres exist in that $1-2k range (presumably). Van Alstine? Rogue? Odyssey? Maybe even Schiit?
Agree, never too much tubes. I have both pre and amp made by PrimaLuna. They replaced my solid state Stereophile class B pre and amp. I was shocked by the quality of sound. Never will go back to solid state gear.
A fantastic topic [assuming sound quality is the target]... that meandered all over the place, so I gave up. Even halfway through, I kept asking: will he ever get to the point?
I know this video is about tube equipment, I definitely learned from it, thanks Kevin - AND - I appreciate you sharing your primary system that you're working on at home Kevin - - wouldn't surprise me if you get a few negative comments because of it's cost - - from my perspective, I love that you're putting together this fantastic reference system - - some people don't understand commerce - spending some of that money your making is what makes the economy work, sort of the same thing with Oprah, if she's buying houses all over the place, that helps with jobs and the flow of money - - anyway and regardless, perhaps sometime you could put together a bit of a video and take us through the whole system - love to learn what your doing for cables and sources and such and so forth - - thanks.
The ones that complain about high end audio 99% of the time have never owned, heard or even laid a finger on the products they claim to know so much about. And speaking of claims. Just about every one of these idiots always claims to be a recording engineer or an electrical engineer, and always 30+ years of experience. And at least 50% of them all use the same line. At some point in the conversation, they always say "Well, I'm just trying to wrap my engineers head around all this.".
Tube preamps will greatly help out a stereo. But SS preamp into a tube power amp? Not gonna blow lots of money to find out. All tube sounds best, costs the most. Douk ST-01 Pro gets close to a tube amp, at a fraction of the cost. Really drives speakers nicely. Bit smaller sound stage but great imaging and detail.
What is the interest of having a preamp over an integrated amp e.g. EVO 400 integrated amp vs EVO 400 preamp + amp? Does it make (that much of) a difference in terms of audio quality, dynamics, floor noise, etc? Also, I’ve noticed 2 EVO amps can be linked to form a pair of ‘monoblocks’. I wonder if this would be beneficial to sound (especially if a single amp is enough to drive speakers it is connected to)
Interesting that you mentioned guitar amps. My experience with valve amps is mainly with guitar amplifiers. Valves certainly colour the tone in a unique way. It’s an interesting area because the bulk of guitar tone colouration comes from the pre-amp stage of the signal path. It’s here where the weak low voltage signal from the guitar pick ups is increased in voltage. The preamp stage is essentially a voltage amplification step. The power amp stage is a current amplification step that increases the power in order to drive the speakers. Like your speakers guitar amps dont use crossover circuitry (not that I know of anyway). I cant remember the company or brand name but they have released rackmount pre-amps from classic amp designs like vox, marshall, fender, mesa-boogie etc. You then only use one Power Amp unit and one speaker cabinet which are connected to your stack of pre-amps. A foot switch allows you to connect to different pre amps with their unique tone. Tone resides in the pick up design, strings, guitar design as well but above all, in the fingers and technique of the guitar player (see Jeff Beck). Cheers
Spot on. The input valve handles the high impedance of the guitar pick-ups well. But so would a FET. The first stage has a voltage gain probably in the thousands, and the gain from the intermediate stage to the power valves is probably around 4x. And we can wax lyrical about the theory but at the end of the day valve amps really help the nuances of striking the string translate to the speaker. You will not find a better example of this than listening to Jeff Beck. th-cam.com/video/AoQHnzHrqgE/w-d-xo.html
@@timothykraft9245 You describe it very well Timothy. The frightening thing about Jeff Beck, who I have seen play live many times here in Australia. is that he doestn use any effects or pedals. It's all in his technique and use of the volume control. The amp is basically used to increase the volume so that everybody in the concert Hall can here that weak signal coming out of the pick ups. When Beck flicked those picks away all those years ago and decided to use his fingers only, the music industry basically got a new guitarist. He has been pushing the sonic boundaries of the instrument ever since - even today. He may well be the only guitarists from his era that is still re-inventing his sound. He is still like a kid in a candy store....genius.
Well in the guitar amp the tubes color the sound because of how they are used not because of any coloration of the tubes themselves. The sound is in how it is biased and driven. Your 12AX7 can be extremely linear or very phat depending on the circuit. The power supply sag and undersized OPTs also come into play here.
@@mkshffr4936 That's not quite right. To make a tube guitar amp distort, you increase the gain until it forces the tubes to be overdriven, and that's how you get the distorted sound. When you overdrive a transistor, it sounds like crap. That's the problem. You can either use tubes or emulate them.
@@AT-wl9yq And how they are biased affects not only the inherent harmonic distortion spectrum but how much input signal is needed to over drive them. Take a look at the plate curves in the data sheet or just try different operating points and loading to see this. Spice simulation is a good way to visualize this. Plate, cathode, and even grid stopper resistor values will all have an effect not to mention B+.
Amazing...first time I watch and feel someone honest is standing in front of me...I'm abroad and looking for an amp most likely Tube amp..my budget is somewhere around 5k~6k.. Do u guys help people a road as well? Do u sell abroad ? Thx, I'm totally confused here and browsing for days and days and nights and ready no idea where to go lol....
Great video Would you prefer a big tube NAT New Magma or something like a AGD Vivace Class-D incl. Tube I guess when it come to pure sound, the NAT might be the best, but putting size, head generating, power consumption into the fight I don´t know if the variation of AGD might be "better in the end" because the combining the best of 2 worlds
Hi Kevin, I ve bought your Dialogue Preamp and use vintage pioneer M25 solid state power amp to drive Focal 1028BE. I want to buy either your evo 400 power amp or your first evo 300 hybrid amp. which composition is better for me？ I am lookin forward to your early reply. Thx
I have a music reference rm5 mk3 I have been using for about thirty years I am now using a 50 wpc moss fet amplifier made by rl mertz electric co in north Carolina this particular amplifier has no capacitors in the audio path and the moss fets are strapped directly to the op amps the system is housed in a salamander synergy rack sounds excellent
I read and listen that a tube setup will make my Cornwall 4s sing. Butt I'm an old fart, older than Kevin, and I've never owned tube gear. I remember in the 60's and 70s growing up with a tube radio, tube TV, my Dad's old tube mono record player. Nothing but trouble, replacing tubes, ordering tubes, wrong tubes, broken pins and sockets, nothing but lint in the amps, . Just the thought of replacing tubes again makes me nauseated. I'm thinking about buying a tube power amp and running my Benchmark preamp into it, then saving up for a tube preamp. What shall I start with, I have a decent budget? Help me change my life!
You have trouble listening? He said of course he sells stuff but he is not trying to sell you the stuff that makes him the most money. He sells you stuff to your budget and what you are looking for. That way he gets returning customers. There's a reason he is one of the biggest dealers there is.
I'm a bassist who's got a darkglass alpha omega 900, which has no tubes and I love it. Still trying to learn about tubes, so I can understand my weird guitarist hah
yep tubes for power amps... and don't use any preamp if you don't have to - go direct into the power amp! (don't get me wrong though love SS MOSFET power amps as well especially Pass Labs) the Carver 275 with KT120s is a current tech as good a 75w/channel tube amp ever made. (don't waster yer money on McIntosh at $10K more for fancy CNC waterjet cut glass and silk screening... though they are beautiful just no where near as good absolute sound bang/buck) I have the carver crimson 350W monoblocks and they sing such beautiful music! I have multiple speaker pairs but with the 350 crimsons and the Pass x350.8 (ML expression 13 ESLs, and the new KLH model 5 redux in my current big listening room) that it ALL brings tears to my eyes..... I drive it mostly with a Samsung note20 with an ESS sabre audio quest cobalt USB C DAC (streaming 16/44.1 to 24/192 from Amazon HD) pugged right into the power amps, use that with a long usb cable and I can hold the whole thing in my hand and control it all from my sofa listening position! I also have a PS audio stellar DAC and NuWave phono preamp/ADC, thorens TT, and some home brew 12ax7 tube preamps that i use to select the other various TTs, yamaha SACD and OPPO SACD/bluray players
This was the exact question I had! Thanks for the video! I saw a DYNA Stereo Preamplifier at a used hi fi store yesterday. I have a SS integrated amp that I could connect a tube pre amp to. What's your opinion of the DYNA PAS-3X?
@@Theupgradeguy The power supply on the one I have has been upgraded, the unit has been gone over and noise has been reduced. I do prefer the sound of this combined with the solid state integrated versus just the SS integrated amp by itself. Would love to go with the PL EVO pre and power amps!
Not until very recent have class d amps gotten close to tube amps in sound. Guitar amp wise you absolute can never match a tube with an all digital rig But I must mention dimebag Darrell he used all solid state in the 90s (Randall I think) he had a very unique sound, it sounded great! Once in a while some guy tricks out his solid state guitar amp and gets some magic going
I'm on the wrong channel, I don't have enough budget to play here. I'm going back to the cheap audio man! However, I do appreciate the knowledge, so I'll stick around for that.
Let's Face It! It All Depends On What Your Budget Can Handle! If You Purchase A Multi Multi Tube (Maybe Exotic Tubes?) Compoinet, You Must Consider The Cost Of Tube Replacement Too! So You Buy An Amp/Pre-Amp At The Very Top Of What Your Budget Can Afford, A Tube Kicks The Bucket! It Might Take 2/3/4/5/6 Months To Afford The Replacement, Your Awesome Amp Sits There Quietly! Musicless! How Sad That Would Be!
the main problem with tubes is the bass playback. No tube amp can have the bass of a Krell ... to say one name. Listen to a pipe organ track and that will come out very clearly. The midrange of tubes can be sublime ... much better than with the average solid state.
nice! im spying that sansui receiver in the back ! dont know if its the tubed version or solid state but they made both that looked pretty much the same
Meh. Those tend to be over hyped. There's some decent ones for sure. So far, the most natural sounding DAC I've heard is the Schiit Yggdrasil: Less Is More flavor. I save the tubes for the preamp and phono. :)
I love my Doge 7 dac with west German Telefunkens. So much so I'm thinking of getting a tube phono to bring my vinyl up to speed with my hi res streaming. Currently using the phono on my Yamaha AS2200 which sounds great but can be a bit harsh with my Klipsch heritage speakers compared to the Doge. Maybe just different masters though...hard to say. Probably won't cause I'm worried about losing bass. Certainly not a problem with the Doge paired to the solid state Yamaha though.
Thinking about 400 preamp and Parasound Jc5. I have a 400 integrated and I use that in space restricted 2nd system. Anyone have thoughts about the 400 pre into the Jc5?
Best is both tube pre amp and tube power amp, also the tubes themselves have a great deal on how the voicing of the instruments will sound I only buy NOS tubes also the speakers themselves have a it’s a mind altering tube rolling thing. I myself have 1959 tube preamp and a 1959 tube power amp, zero EQ used it blows me away. Using 1974 Altec Langsing big speakers. It’s not about volume it about pure reproducing of the instrument.
Believe me or not: I was the biggest tube guy BUT get the Arcam SA 20 and you will never ever be longing for tubes anymore! It has the sweetest mids but is more true with regards to bass control, cohesiveness and dynamics. Output transformes is the worse thing you could put in a signal path. Try the arcam. I sold my Leben, airtight, ear yoshino and Kondo stuff! Apart from that: Primaluna does not sound especially mellow and tuby in the mids. It is more like Musical F on tubes. If you are looking for tube magic, go for AMC!
This is quite the endorsement for the Arcam. So 5 months removed are you still feeling the same? Class G looks interesting... From what I've read, Arcam certainly seems all in on the topology.
Gotta have a plan, at least a structure. Why wouldn't he? The editing has kicked up a notch but I've always seen this man be able to talk pretty freeform and fluently
Yep, got to be a tube / choke / cap' rectifier. No chips to be seen, not needed, they weren't when purposed power-valves like EL34's 88's, 6L6's or KT66's & 88's etc & esp' yonks before when 300B, 845's 805's or 2A3's & other antique old transmitter valve triodes, brill' for S.E. or P.S.E. theoretically perfect power-valves (I'm English) ...were first made, Keep Chips out of amps, i say in a discrete like fashion
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You folks changed my life. I called a bunch of retailers investigating amplifiers and they mentioned all sorts brands. When I spoke with Upscale they weren't going thru the motions, they were really 'into it" and took the time to explain things to me. I ended up with a PrimaLuna EVO 300 and a Sutherland KC vibe. I already had the Rega 6 and my mind was altered. Wonderful. I wish I could remember who I spoke to (User-14568), but he was a joy. Thanks Upscale.
Salesman, not reviewer. His manic enthusiasm is exactly why I discount what he says.
Hearing for yourself is the key. A buddy had an old Prima Luna Dialogue One integrated laying around and let me use it for a few weeks. After hearing it in my system I thought I'd made a big mistake by having a SS integrated amp in my system. Adding a tube preamp improved the sonics of my system tremendously as Kevin suggested. Someday I'd like switch out to the Prima Luna EVO 400 pre/power.
You are a one of a kind Kevin Deal! I love your no-BS transparency. I wish I was in So CA and not No CA - and could visit your store and and meet you! Thank you for your hard work with these reviews.
Thank you so much for the straight talk. I don’t want to dive into the deep end. My grandpa introduced me to tube amps so I want to get an entry level tube headphone amp but I don’t want to refinance the house. So thank you for being honest and helping me sift through the fanatics.
Kevin has such “Honest” breakdowns on equipment , especially tube products. Clear breakdowns make for a great video
I’m 60. I’ve always owned Marantz, Denon, HKardon, Yamaha receivers. Last year I purchased (my very first) cheap Chinese Tube pwr amp and preamp. $200.00 ea. I was immediately Blown-away by the purity, clarity of tube sound. Like nite/day. My JBL 4311’s produced sounds/instruments I’d never experienced. (Sometimes I pair a tube amp wit a solid state receiver) Tubes for life.
Can you share the brand and model numbers?
@@m.naeemakhtar7348 i😊😊😊😊
Hello.
Just came across this video & your comment.
I’ll check out what you purchased. Sounds like it really worked out.
Your last comment (pairing a tube preamp with a solid state receiver) is EXACTLY what I’d like to try with my Pioneer SX 950.
How did try that work out for you?
@@pancakelover1000 A Very Good mix. Whether it’s tube preamp with solid state pwr amp or solid state preamp with tube pwr amp it’s Good. I hear 👂 a difference. Clarity, nuances. People talking in background. Tube preamp with a tube pwr amp is Good. Solid state preamp - solid state pwr amp, Marantz my choice, has a tube sound.
Models of the power amp and preamp that you purchased??
I may be a little high right now, but. That was such a passionate speech about tubes, it was what I needed to finally convince me!
Kevin, You are the best!!! I hope to meet you someday and thank you in person. All of you honest and heart felt education, its much appreciated. Great job!
Kevin, you are very much THE MAN! Your passion for what you do is intoxicating. Hell, I wish we had a High-end audio dealer like yourself in the UK. Irrespective of the price, I would order from you and only you if you were to open up in the UK.
Kevin. I’m a guitarist of 35 years. Guitar amps are different. We want the power section to distort. Completely different Love ya man
Not completely true. Some of the best guitarists look for amps with the most clean headroom possible and use external drivers to distort. SRV, EJ, etc...... Dumbles weren’t loved for their distortion. It was the massive clean tone.
Uncle Kevin THANK YOU! Living in the puget sound u would think there all kinds of high end audio here! Well there isn’t. Get in touch and let’s do a store here. But on the flip side, I have always been a audio enthusiast. But your video have taught me so much more. Amps, pres, streaming, power, everything u can think of I absorbed from you and your staff.! Big Love from the Beautiful Cascade Mountains!
Interesting video kept me glued to my computer screen though out. In separates, I never did make out what you felt was the most important piece of tube gear to invest in. Preamp or Amplifier? This is just my two cents so take it with huge grain of salt. I would say the most important piece in my system is the tube preamp , over the amps. The way I look at it is the Preamp, is the Central Nervous System of my entire rig. My Amps are the Muscle. An excellent preamp allows me to get the most out of my source and amps regardless if they are SS or Tube. All that being said, so far the best sound I have gotten out of this system, is when everything is mated with an outstanding tube amp. Even the noise floor became reduced, when I switched to them. Dispelling the myth that tube amps are more noisy than SS.
What tube preamp and SS power are you using?
House tour please! i wanna see the mancave and your different systems.
Best video I've watched of Kevin's so far.
I love my all tube analogue system so much. Kevin is imho right about everything what he says is this great video. 🙂
I like Kevin. He's like my freind robs stereo store in Washington, "reference media" they aren't trying to oversell you, they are trying to start you on the right path and what you can afford as well as what your listening space is like. I can't understand the cheapskates that complain prices. There's so much stuff that's way out of my budget but I go to knowledgeable people to guide me to where I want i go and it's turned into a several year relationship and piecing gear together and experimenting. My freind rob is teaching me to start out slowly, and knows the best products at different levels and you build from there. My setup over the past 4 years includes the prima luna evo 300, Set of REL carbon specials, set of klipsch Cornwall 4s, rega p8 and project box ds phono stage. I didn't buy all my stuff from him but he is always giving solid advice on where I should take my build from there. Theater room is next and he's helping me with amps, big screen, pre amp.and room setup. He also does custom installs. My point here is of course they sell you products, but they also care so you the customer will be completely satisfied with your purchase and they are great guides to get your system of your dreams, and your budget to be the best it can be. Rob sold me a demo evo 300 and it was a revelation of beautiful sound and experience. Nothing like pure analog bliss from a great tube set up!
So here is a Prima Luna specific question: One EVO400 integrated or EVO100 preamp + 2 EVO100 amps in mono?
I am running the Schiit Freya+ tube preamp which feeds the Jeff Rowland 125 solid state power amp and I am very happy with the pairing. The Freya+ is my first tube amp.
Do you get that tuby sound from the system? I am in the market for freya+ tube preamp and a strong SS power amp like Rotel 1582.Not sure if the tube preamp stage would provide the absolute tuby sound that the tube power amps have.
@@marcusaurelius2988 well, many have remarked at how great the Freya+ sounds in tube mode. I use it only in tube mode. I am not an expert on the tube sound but I am more than happy with my pairing. I think a tube preamp with a solid state power amp is a good pairing.
Mister 420... you got me there man, you got me there already.
I love the way you explain music 🎶
My bass amp has a tube and solid state input and solid state output, but with stereos it's a chain; the system sounds as good as the weakest link in the chain. I've also had a small solid state Marshall that when driven hard using an HM-2 box with volume cranked and distortion turned off sounded to me as good as a tubed one, and I now also have a tubed B-52 guitar amp. It also sounds great. I remember decades ago solid state guitar amps would stink when overdriven and tubes were the way to go, but with all the advances in electronics and emulation, I can't swear I could tell the difference if adjusted correctly. I even have pedal boards for my bass and guitars that I use to practice with using headphones, and they sound good. If I ran them into the input of the effects channel I doubt if anyone would know they weren't listening to hard-driven tubes. If both pre and power amps are well made. I doubt I could tell the difference.
My first time viewing your channel. I like it. I like you. I can tell you are honest. I recently fulfilled something on my bucket list. I finally bought a Macintosh 2 channel amp, the MC462. Something about those blue meters just makes the music sound better at least to me, playing through Cornwall 4. I’m in the market for a preamp as it’s currently driving the Cornwall as LR speakers in an Atmos system with a Marantz 8802A. When I listen to just music I feel as if I’m not getting all the Mac has to offer and have been thinking of a tube preamp.
McIntosh C8 maybe?
I love you man!! Of course you’re selling, but I love you shooting us straight asswell!!!! I’ve seen you recommend less expensive products, and let it be known some things are worth the cash! If you’re ever in Nashville I’d love to burn the fire and jam tunes!!
Ya, I had some tube gear the Audio Research SP 10 and 11, but have been mostly a Rowland/Krell Amp guy. I just got a PrimaLuna evo 400 yesterday- demo model and I am pretty floored Does so many things right- actually blows my Krell Evo 403 away in the mid-bass of all things, and stomps it in detail and holographic soundstage. Nice warm engaging sound. Glad I made the move! :)
Do you still rate the Audio research preamplifiers even though you are now using the prima luma 400 integrated amplifier.
Kevin is spot on. I'm a music producer guitar player. I have all of the best guitar amp modeling plugins. I love them for their convenience, and for getting a decent guitar sound on my laptop Pro Tools system when I'm away from the studio. But when I mic up my Marshall it just has a clarity that sits in the mix without being pushed up too loud. It's a subtle difference when you hear the comparison soloed but makes the world of difference in a full mix. The real tube amp just 'sits' in the mix, you hear all the nuances of each note. My personal theory on this is that tube amps maintain better phase coherence between the fundamental of the note and the harmonics. Furthermore, the harmonic distortion is changing dynamically in a more natural way, based on how I attack each note with the pick. Modeling gets close, especially the Line Six algorithms, but I generally just use plugins for laying down an idea. The final will almost always be an amp with microphones. Of course, the use of real microphones in a real room also contributes to the sonic information that helps the part "cut through" the mix. I have never heard a transistor guitar amp that I didn't immediately dislike.
Its a unique problem that's only an issue in guitar amps. Its the only type of audio amplifier that's driven to distortion on purpose. The fundamental problem is this. When a tube amp is overdriven and distorts, it sounds good (providing you actually want it to distort). A transistor amps sound terrible when they distort. And that's the problem. They have to come up with a way to make a distorted sound without overdriving the transistors. It's also the reason solid state guitar amps are typically rated for more power than tube amps. Everyone thinks the reason is that tube watts are more powerful than solid state watts. That's not the case. They make solid state amps more powerful because they can't have it distort, and that takes a lot of clean power to accomplish.
That said, the people designing all these new solid state guitar products, should be very proud of the work they're doing. They've gotten amazing results trying to solve a very difficult problem. I don't think they will be able to fully duplicate the sound of a tube. At least not in the near future. I predict they will have to make a compromise. If they use some tubes in the preamp, and mate that with the best digital modeling tech they can come up with, and play it through a solid state poweramp, that may be enough.
Tannoy and the neighbours annoy 👍❤️🇬🇧🔊🍺
Awesome video as usual. God bless everybody.
Hi Kevin, I wish you would open a store in Sydney Australia. We could do with a honest operator and I might go into a hifi store. I’m a valve guy for my main system since the early 1980’s with Vacuum State preamp and a more up to date JLTi EL34 tube power amplifier from Custom Analogue here in Sydney, I could be happier. Love your enthusiasm and passion for audio and for what you do. Keep up the good work.
So, myself just getting into tube amps, am getting into it on the low end CE side. Starting off with a Nobsound 6P1. It's what I can afford at the moment. Right out of the box it Sounded pretty sweet. Better than my Vintage dump find Yamaha solid state amp. But not better than my Yamaha Aventage RX-A550. In which I myself am finding it hard to find something better sounding for under $1200. I'm sure there is. But Audio stores in my area have been gone for 20 years. It's Best buy or Amazon for me. That's sad to say the least!
So, after noting it's problems, which start at the main transformer and end with rerouting the ground off the output tubes. I got what I paid for and then some. But what I ended up with is something I am proud of. I should have never bought it in the first place. But now, the hundred dollars in upgrades. It really is sweet sounding. The separation and transparency. Certain sets of speakers give off a holographic sound stage. And for being a 13.6W amplifier, pushes a set of Wharfedale D320’s pretty good. I love rock first and am starting to get into Jazz, Blues and some R&B (real R&B, not hip-hop). Most notably live albums. Even streaming through Bluetooth 5.0. The Motet, Live at Redrocks sounds so Amazing. What tubes do to the soundstage is quite amazing. The detail and depth I have never heard in the midrange is astounding. But this is a 300 dollar amplifier. When I pull the trigger on a 3000 dollar tube amp, I'm sure the difference will be night and day. Someday, someday.
I lost it on the part where you said "this place is for me" hahaha
Jerry Garcia used a tube preamp into a solid state power amp. Albeit, a McIntosh MC2300, but solid state non the less.
What's most important is buying a great SS integrated that offers the sound of a SS power amp coupled with a tube pre-amp without the hassle of tubes !
Only a real tube component will give that true authentic sound. Real fruits over plastics ones any day!!!!
Will good tube power also make Trudeau go away? Count me in, if so
Why do some people have to bring politics into every thing they do ?
My guitar playing son had a Marshall something or other. It was relatively inexpensive, with a solid state power section and a tube pre. As a Fender lover, and tube lover, I had to admit it sounded pretty damn good, especially when the cost was factored in.
Those marshall valvestates from the 90s are really quite versatile, not all solid states are crap, it's just that the market is saturated with crap ones
I have a Mac MC275 and a Mac C 2300 preamp with a pair of the klipsch La Scalas live my system love tube !!! thx for your videos brother
Ya got me with that Tower of Trailers. Good one.
I live very close to youI Just discovered a nice record store in Claremont, and am thinking of replacing my old turntable. Can't wait till your store is open again.
Btw, would be interested in seeing some videos of your home setup. Carrying those big speakers into that room must have been quite an exercise. Plus an all tube home theater sounds fascinating.
I started my tube journey with a very good hybrid integrated amp. I have finally achieved audio nirvana with a Bob Carver Crimson 275, a McIntosh C49 and Klipsch Cornwall 3's.
big
If I did something similar would I need a phono amp or can McIntosh do that?
@@MrRourk The C49 has an excellent phono amp. You can also use an external phono amp with any line input. The Schiit Mani is an example which I have used and found to be very competent for the price.
@@hobo1452 Thanks I have not found any reviews of it being used a phono amp. I assumed it could do that job. Turntable is a Dual 505-2
@@MrRourk While the C49 is a digital age preamplifier, it has a surprisingly capable and adjustable dedicated phono stage that can be set up to handle just about any MM/MC cartridge.
Kevin, you said your Home Theater is all tubes. I know it's pretty rare to find multi channel tube preamps. What do you use? For power? Tube Monoblocks?
Hi Kevin, nice room with huge staff..
Can you please compare this pre-amp power amp combination with PrimaLuna integrated amp?
One more question, are two poweramp required for this preamp?
Love you Kevin and Upscale Audio! Also, modeling amps suck.
An analog only turntable system is pretty nice. With tubes of course. Hard to beat soundwise. Lots of "sparkle".
I see a Sansii 1000A in the background. Is that a good way to get into tubes? Most tune components are out of reach for the average consumer. Restored Samsun 1009A’s are getting unaffordable too.
Hello their Kevin, My Lumin X1 Love it.
The integrated is a mix of Power Amp & Preamp, am I right?
Yep!!! 60 now but into audio since 15. Child of the "solid state" generation so just missed valves. Tried a little cheapy tube buffer from China for £40 about 4 year ago stuck 2 vintage General Electric valves £6 each into it.
Astonishing!!!!
Made me overhaul my whole system
Valve preamp XiangSheng 728a ( going to replace that with a DOGE Clarity 8)
Valve phono Ear 834p
Ruark Acoustic Templar 2
The valves sound gorgeous driving a 600w a channel class D power amp ( B&O Icepower As1200)
Looking for a Valve DAC now and when my lovely old Arcam CD 33 pops off. I'll replace that with a valve CD player
They just sound more natural to my ears
Valves are king!!!!!!
But hell those prices for older valves are creeping up and up and up.....................................
I would have never guessed you're 60. You post like 3 20 year old's. Anyway, I noticed you have an Arcam 33. I have one too. Its built like a tank. Honestly, I have better CD players that cost more money, but don't be so fast to give it up. Its just a great sounding player, and you can listen to it for hours without getting tired. If you sell it, you're going to want it back. Good transports are hard to come by these days. Maybe get a tube dac like a Prima Luna, and use the Arcam for a transport.
Hi there hope you are well, merry x mass, what does the Valve preamp XiangSheng 728a sound like? o also bought a cheap buffer from Alli express, but now want to upgrade . I saw that you have got h Doge clarity 8 which is a lot of money for me now, but I can treat myself to the first one you got. I also am considering a vacuum valve preamplifier. when I put my buffer through my quad 303 with my mark audio full range they sound nice, so I can only imagine spending on a much better valve prea amp or do you have any other recommendations from ali express?
I had two of these I bought from Kevin and they were fantastic, don’t know why I moved on except that I got greedy. Kevin was great too. No bullshit.
I play nearly all my guitar clean and the tubes make a difference to my Vox AC30 with an AC15 add-on. I have an NOS Mullard EF86 preamp tube powering Harma retro power tubes. It makes a huge difference. to the tone from the original JJ- which are good tubes anyway. Maybe that's just in the Vox where Mullards were obligatory in early 60s models. The JJ was good, the Mullard brilliant.
GREAT video, and great topic. Sorry I didn't see this one until now. Lusting after that wonderful system. But I'm definitely not in that high dollar bracket. Glad you mentioned that some very good pres exist in that $1-2k range (presumably). Van Alstine? Rogue? Odyssey? Maybe even Schiit?
Agree, never too much tubes. I have both pre and amp made by PrimaLuna. They replaced my solid state Stereophile class B pre and amp. I was shocked by the quality of sound. Never will go back to solid state gear.
good going grandpa, dont forget your geritol . geritol here i come kevin haqhahaha
@@tsmith15 Try again, maybe next time will be better.
hi Kevin you said something very interesting about tube buffer, are you saying that the tube warmness does not really change the sound?
A fantastic topic [assuming sound quality is the target]... that meandered all over the place, so I gave up. Even halfway through, I kept asking: will he ever get to the point?
Of course I say that now when I’m shopping for my first starter tube amp lol.
I know this video is about tube equipment, I definitely learned from it, thanks Kevin - AND - I appreciate you sharing your primary system that you're working on at home Kevin - - wouldn't surprise me if you get a few negative comments because of it's cost - - from my perspective, I love that you're putting together this fantastic reference system - - some people don't understand commerce - spending some of that money your making is what makes the economy work, sort of the same thing with Oprah, if she's buying houses all over the place, that helps with jobs and the flow of money - - anyway and regardless, perhaps sometime you could put together a bit of a video and take us through the whole system - love to learn what your doing for cables and sources and such and so forth - - thanks.
The ones that complain about high end audio 99% of the time have never owned, heard or even laid a finger on the products they claim to know so much about. And speaking of claims. Just about every one of these idiots always claims to be a recording engineer or an electrical engineer, and always 30+ years of experience. And at least 50% of them all use the same line. At some point in the conversation, they always say "Well, I'm just trying to wrap my engineers head around all this.".
@@AT-wl9yq Amen, I agree AT. ( :
Tube preamps will greatly help out a stereo. But SS preamp into a tube power amp? Not gonna blow lots of money to find out. All tube sounds best, costs the most. Douk ST-01 Pro gets close to a tube amp, at a fraction of the cost. Really drives speakers nicely. Bit smaller sound stage but great imaging and detail.
Lol the trailer park house
03:32 Agreed !! Lovin my Manley Snappers EL34 magic.
Peachtree Audio made those. I had one and you are correct...it did absolutely nothing tube-like
What is the interest of having a preamp over an integrated amp e.g. EVO 400 integrated amp vs EVO 400 preamp + amp? Does it make (that much of) a difference in terms of audio quality, dynamics, floor noise, etc? Also, I’ve noticed 2 EVO amps can be linked to form a pair of ‘monoblocks’. I wonder if this would be beneficial to sound (especially if a single amp is enough to drive speakers it is connected to)
This would be great to find out. I haven't heard a setup with tube preamp wired to 2 monoblocks that didn't sound amazing.
What’s your suggestion for a best audio 12 AU7 Tube. I bought a used DBX 566 tube compressor. Sounds good but I would like to upgrade if possible..
Interesting that you mentioned guitar amps.
My experience with valve amps is mainly with guitar amplifiers. Valves certainly colour the tone in a unique way.
It’s an interesting area because the bulk of guitar tone colouration comes from the pre-amp stage of the signal path. It’s here where the weak low voltage signal from the guitar pick ups is increased in voltage. The preamp stage is essentially a voltage amplification step. The power amp stage is a current amplification step that increases the power in order to drive the speakers.
Like your speakers guitar amps dont use crossover circuitry (not that I know of anyway).
I cant remember the company or brand name but they have released rackmount pre-amps from classic amp designs like vox, marshall, fender, mesa-boogie etc. You then only use one Power Amp unit and one speaker cabinet which are connected to your stack of pre-amps. A foot switch allows you to connect to different pre amps with their unique tone.
Tone resides in the pick up design, strings, guitar design as well but above all, in the fingers and technique of the guitar player (see Jeff Beck).
Cheers
Spot on. The input valve handles the high impedance of the guitar pick-ups well. But so would a FET. The first stage has a voltage gain probably in the thousands, and the gain from the intermediate stage to the power valves is probably around 4x. And we can wax lyrical about the theory but at the end of the day valve amps really help the nuances of striking the string translate to the speaker. You will not find a better example of this than listening to Jeff Beck. th-cam.com/video/AoQHnzHrqgE/w-d-xo.html
@@timothykraft9245 You describe it very well Timothy. The frightening thing about Jeff Beck, who I have seen play live many times here in Australia. is that he doestn use any effects or pedals. It's all in his technique and use of the volume control. The amp is basically used to increase the volume so that everybody in the concert Hall can here that weak signal coming out of the pick ups. When Beck flicked those picks away all those years ago and decided to use his fingers only, the music industry basically got a new guitarist. He has been pushing the sonic boundaries of the instrument ever since - even today. He may well be the only guitarists from his era that is still re-inventing his sound.
He is still like a kid in a candy store....genius.
Well in the guitar amp the tubes color the sound because of how they are used not because of any coloration of the tubes themselves. The sound is in how it is biased and driven. Your 12AX7 can be extremely linear or very phat depending on the circuit. The power supply sag and undersized OPTs also come into play here.
@@mkshffr4936 That's not quite right. To make a tube guitar amp distort, you increase the gain until it forces the tubes to be overdriven, and that's how you get the distorted sound. When you overdrive a transistor, it sounds like crap. That's the problem. You can either use tubes or emulate them.
@@AT-wl9yq And how they are biased affects not only the inherent harmonic distortion spectrum but how much input signal is needed to over drive them. Take a look at the plate curves in the data sheet or just try different operating points and loading to see this. Spice simulation is a good way to visualize this. Plate, cathode, and even grid stopper resistor values will all have an effect not to mention B+.
Amazing...first time I watch and feel someone honest is standing in front of me...I'm abroad and looking for an amp most likely Tube amp..my budget is somewhere around 5k~6k..
Do u guys help people a road as well? Do u sell abroad ? Thx, I'm totally confused here and browsing for days and days and nights and ready no idea where to go lol....
Great video
Would you prefer a big tube NAT New Magma or something like a AGD Vivace Class-D incl. Tube
I guess when it come to pure sound, the NAT might be the best, but putting size, head generating, power consumption into the fight I don´t know if the variation of AGD might be "better in the end" because the combining the best of 2 worlds
To be fair B.B. King (guy on the poster) preferred a Lab L5 guitar amp when he could get it in the venue. Its a solid state amp
I u b
U t to
kevin i love everything you do I reached out to ken that my denon poa input senceativity is 25k the spec for the premuluna is 28 k so is it ok
How far is your store from San Diego??? I’m flying in this July and I would like to visit your store.🙏🙏🙏🙏
He's about 2 hours North of San Diego.
@@terrywho22 thanks 🙏
@@Oswaldbates67 You going to try to make it there? Hopefully they will be open then.
@@terrywho22 I’m go
I had 2 of those Sansui receivers you have in the bag round. Not bad.
Hi Kevin, I ve bought your Dialogue Preamp and use vintage pioneer M25 solid state power amp to drive Focal 1028BE.
I want to buy either your evo 400 power amp or your first evo 300 hybrid amp.
which composition is better for me？
I am lookin forward to your early reply. Thx
Went from tube-a-phobic to tube-a-holic.
Same
Ionizing the air with music.
Yeah. 🎹😎🤩✨
Love your reviews, tell it like it is. Prima Luna...some day!
I have a music reference rm5 mk3 I have been using for about thirty years I am now using a 50 wpc moss fet amplifier made by rl mertz electric co in north Carolina this particular amplifier has no capacitors in the audio path and the moss fets are strapped directly to the op amps the system is housed in a salamander synergy rack sounds excellent
F
Kevin, where can I get a cool Tannoy t-shirt like yours?
I read and listen that a tube setup will make my Cornwall 4s sing. Butt I'm an old fart, older than Kevin, and I've never owned tube gear. I remember in the 60's and 70s growing up with a tube radio, tube TV, my Dad's old tube mono record player. Nothing but trouble, replacing tubes, ordering tubes, wrong tubes, broken pins and sockets, nothing but lint in the amps, . Just the thought of replacing tubes again makes me nauseated. I'm thinking about buying a tube power amp and running my Benchmark preamp into it, then saving up for a tube preamp. What shall I start with, I have a decent budget? Help me change my life!
When I went all tube, I was blown away. I can't even listen to solid state anymore.
Can I get your email to get you with one of our sale experts?
Not sellin' it, this is charity🤣
You have trouble listening? He said of course he sells stuff but he is not trying to sell you the stuff that makes him the most money. He sells you stuff to your budget and what you are looking for. That way he gets returning customers. There's a reason he is one of the biggest dealers there is.
I'm a bassist who's got a darkglass alpha omega 900, which has no tubes and I love it.
Still trying to learn about tubes, so I can understand my weird guitarist hah
yep tubes for power amps... and don't use any preamp if you don't have to - go direct into the power amp! (don't get me wrong though love SS MOSFET power amps as well especially Pass Labs) the Carver 275 with KT120s is a current tech as good a 75w/channel tube amp ever made. (don't waster yer money on McIntosh at $10K more for fancy CNC waterjet cut glass and silk screening... though they are beautiful just no where near as good absolute sound bang/buck) I have the carver crimson 350W monoblocks and they sing such beautiful music! I have multiple speaker pairs but with the 350 crimsons and the Pass x350.8 (ML expression 13 ESLs, and the new KLH model 5 redux in my current big listening room) that it ALL brings tears to my eyes..... I drive it mostly with a Samsung note20 with an ESS sabre audio quest cobalt USB C DAC (streaming 16/44.1 to 24/192 from Amazon HD) pugged right into the power amps, use that with a long usb cable and I can hold the whole thing in my hand and control it all from my sofa listening position! I also have a PS audio stellar DAC and NuWave phono preamp/ADC, thorens TT, and some home brew 12ax7 tube preamps that i use to select the other various TTs, yamaha SACD and OPPO SACD/bluray players
My pair of ARC-150 + SP-15 is enough for me to listen music everyday
This was the exact question I had! Thanks for the video! I saw a DYNA Stereo Preamplifier at a used hi fi store yesterday. I have a SS integrated amp that I could connect a tube pre amp to. What's your opinion of the DYNA PAS-3X?
There's LOTS of good upgrades out there for these. Check 'Update My Dynaco".
@@Theupgradeguy The power supply on the one I have has been upgraded, the unit has been gone over and noise has been reduced. I do prefer the sound of this combined with the solid state integrated versus just the SS integrated amp by itself. Would love to go with the PL EVO pre and power amps!
How do the PrimaLuna EVO 400 Pre-amp/Amp pair with Focal Sopra 2’s for vinyl setups?
Not until very recent have class d amps gotten close to tube amps in sound.
Guitar amp wise you absolute can never match a tube with an all digital rig
But I must mention dimebag Darrell he used all solid state in the 90s (Randall I think) he had a very unique sound, it sounded great!
Once in a while some guy tricks out his solid state guitar amp and gets some magic going
I'm on the wrong channel, I don't have enough budget to play here. I'm going back to the cheap audio man! However, I do appreciate the knowledge, so I'll stick around for that.
Let's Face It! It All Depends On What Your Budget Can Handle! If You Purchase A Multi Multi Tube (Maybe Exotic Tubes?) Compoinet, You Must Consider The Cost Of Tube Replacement Too! So You Buy An Amp/Pre-Amp At The Very Top Of What Your Budget Can Afford, A Tube Kicks The Bucket! It Might Take 2/3/4/5/6 Months To Afford The Replacement, Your Awesome Amp Sits There Quietly! Musicless! How Sad That Would Be!
the main problem with tubes is the bass playback. No tube amp can have the bass of a Krell ... to say one name. Listen to a pipe organ track and that will come out very clearly. The midrange of tubes can be sublime ... much better than with the average solid state.
how about using the Feliks echo MK2 as a preamp?
Mr. 420! What a great name 😎
nice! im spying that sansui receiver in the back ! dont know if its the tubed version or solid state but they made both that looked pretty much the same
Wish you talked about Tube DACs. All Solid State with a tube dac
Meh. Those tend to be over hyped. There's some decent ones for sure. So far, the most natural sounding DAC I've heard is the Schiit Yggdrasil: Less Is More flavor. I save the tubes for the preamp and phono. :)
I love my Doge 7 dac with west German Telefunkens. So much so I'm thinking of getting a tube phono to bring my vinyl up to speed with my hi res streaming. Currently using the phono on my Yamaha AS2200 which sounds great but can be a bit harsh with my Klipsch heritage speakers compared to the Doge. Maybe just different masters though...hard to say. Probably won't cause I'm worried about losing bass. Certainly not a problem with the Doge paired to the solid state Yamaha though.
Thinking about 400 preamp and Parasound Jc5. I have a 400 integrated and I use that in space restricted 2nd system. Anyone have thoughts about the 400 pre into the Jc5?
Please what KT150 brands do you recommend?
Best is both tube pre amp and tube power amp, also the tubes themselves have a great deal on how the voicing of the instruments will sound I only buy NOS tubes also the speakers themselves have a it’s a mind altering tube rolling thing. I myself have 1959 tube preamp and a 1959 tube power amp, zero EQ used it blows me away. Using 1974 Altec Langsing big speakers. It’s not about volume it about pure reproducing of the instrument.
I would love to know what all tube hone cinema you have
Believe me or not: I was the biggest tube guy BUT get the Arcam SA 20 and you will never ever be longing for tubes anymore! It has the sweetest mids but is more true with regards to bass control, cohesiveness and dynamics. Output transformes is the worse thing you could put in a signal path. Try the arcam. I sold my Leben, airtight, ear yoshino and Kondo stuff!
Apart from that: Primaluna does not sound especially mellow and tuby in the mids. It is more like Musical F on tubes. If you are looking for tube magic, go for AMC!
This is quite the endorsement for the Arcam. So 5 months removed are you still feeling the same? Class G looks interesting... From what I've read, Arcam certainly seems all in on the topology.
I enjoyed this vid
I have 8 Tube Amps…..35 guitars, 72 retired professional photographer.
What about Vincent Audio hybrids?
approve of the personal system, but didn't understand the need for a center channel at all
Honestly this style of video quality suggests finesse and written script style reviewing. I preffer your style with the more basic live style video
Gotta have a plan, at least a structure. Why wouldn't he? The editing has kicked up a notch but I've always seen this man be able to talk pretty freeform and fluently
Yep, got to be a tube / choke / cap' rectifier. No chips to be seen, not needed, they weren't when purposed power-valves like EL34's 88's, 6L6's or KT66's & 88's etc & esp' yonks before when 300B, 845's 805's or 2A3's & other antique old transmitter valve triodes, brill' for S.E. or P.S.E. theoretically perfect power-valves (I'm English) ...were first made, Keep Chips out of amps, i say in a discrete like fashion
I don't agree that a tube buffer does not do anything like stated here. I do have a tube buffer and changing the tube do change the sound.
Trailer Park Condos are cool! A HiFi system in every room. California dreaming!
and sound proof walls