Digital source and valve amp combo. Good or bad set up?

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Assuming you mean a good cdp as the digital source I have none.

For arguments sake, lets say CD player or computer based/streaming based system.

I looked into buying a valve amp about 18 months ago and the guy told me that it wouldn't be suitable for a computer based audio system. That comment has always stuck with me.

Its just that for some reason, the 'Romantic sentiment' of having a valve amp has also stuck with me. Hands up, i've rarely heard a valve amp and the last time was probably over a decade ago .... but there's something about them ....

I think it was a Mistral Amp http://www.mistralaudio.co.uk/products.html
 
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Currently running an Arcam Alpha 7 ... i do like Arcam, but I've always wanted to 'Own' a valve amp.

One thing I didn't mention is my musical tastes (or lack of) which leans mainly to dance, drum & bass and a touch of old school rap. Does this throw a different light on my desire for a valve amp?
 
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Currently running an Arcam Alpha 7 ... i do like Arcam, but I've always wanted to 'Own' a valve amp.

One thing I didn't mention is my musical tastes (or lack of) which leans mainly to dance, drum & bass and a touch of old school rap. Does this throw a different light on my desire for a valve amp?

No. Not unless you need extreme SPL and you have inefficient speakers. This limitation is only due to the fact that tube/valve amps typically offer fewer watts for your money.

The tube/valve amp won't care what kind of music it plays. It'll be just as happy playing Vanilla Ice as it will be playing Vivaldi. :)

If anything, the tube "warmth" will tend to subdue the "digitalitis" in the rest of the system.

If that sounds like a negative to you, then you might want to reconsider.
 
This is a silly question, somehow :(
First, ANY decent build amplifier, no matter its internal nature, that respects minimum standards should not be sensitive to a particular kind of source, if that is properly engineered, whatever the nature of the source might be.
Second, NOT the source is the main concern when choosing an amplifier, but the room you will listen them in and the musical taste of the owner. The guy who 'insert' the premise of this question to your mind either is not skilled in electronics, or have a hidden interest in the way he raise the problem. If you like drum&base, the loudspeakers should be your main concern (related to the room you will use), then the amplifier; the last concern shall be the source ;)
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Just try it and see but... cogitech has it in a nutshell over speaker sensitivity though.

At the end of the day it's in your own listening room, with either a few or loads of soft furnishings, sprung floor or solid concrete, your musical tastes and ultimately your own ears - and that's what matters....ears and your speakers capabilities.

If it's awful you'll know right away and if it's great you'll stand there grinning...like we all do from time to time.

Valve amps can sound fantastic as can a solid state.....give it a shot.
It could be astonishing :)
 
This is a silly question, somehow :(
First, ANY decent build amplifier, no matter its internal nature, that respects minimum standards should not be sensitive to a particular kind of source, if that is properly engineered, whatever the nature of the source might be.
Second, NOT the source is the main concern when choosing an amplifier, but the room you will listen them in and the musical taste of the owner. The guy who 'insert' the premise of this question to your mind either is not skilled in electronics, or have a hidden interest in the way he raise the problem. If you like drum&base, the loudspeakers should be your main concern (related to the room you will use), then the amplifier; the last concern shall be the source ;)
attitube dot com

Slap on my wrists because in the 25+ years I've been into home audio, I know quite a bit about loudspeaker design. I know enough about 1/2 space 1/4 space, the various modes of loading, and have built everything from Jensen Transflex, various orders of Bandpass, variations of Aperiodic chambered designs, Horns, and variations on each including isobaric compound. I mainly design transmission lines, but I've paid absolute no attention to the electronic (amplifier) design.

Even though I've put my time and effort into learning enclosure design, when it comes to system design I was always taught the opposite:

Source
Amp
Speakers
Sundries - cables etc

I do agree that room acoustics has a huge bearing on loudspeaker design. But when i got into car audio it seemed to be the way you put it

Speakers - or in the car audio enthusiasts world ... huge subwoofer
Amp
Head Unit

I prefer the a warm, full sound and I don't believe in paying a billion pounds for many so-called high-end brands .. hence I'm content with the likes of Arcam. I agree with using above average sensitive speakers, i've got enough floating around.

When I put the question to said sales person I'd been out of the game for quite a while, but even then I thought it was a strange comment to make about valve amps. I guess the sales person on the other end was giving an opinion.
 
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I have digital streamed to a Logitech, then to tube amps (monoblock SET) with very efficient OB speakers (2x15" 1x8 full range 1xsuper tweeter each side) and love it, also have a solid state set up with Audiolab 8000A (21 years old and still going strong!!!! I have replaced the main electros though).
 
I have digital streamed to a Logitech, then to tube amps (monoblock SET) with very efficient OB speakers (2x15" 1x8 full range 1xsuper tweeter each side) and love it, also have a solid state set up with Audiolab 8000A (21 years old and still going strong!!!! I have replaced the main electros though).

Audiolab ... that brings back memories. If I remember rightly, I found the Audiolab a bit sterile for my tastes, but a good amp all the same. For some reason I always get gooey over the old amps from the Kenwood 3020 amp, Cyrus 1,2, and 3, Audiolab to name a few.

Like I said, I guess given my musical preferences towards dance music and with a digital source, the salesperson probably was simply giving an opinion.

Don't get me wrong, one of the main reasons i came out of going to high-end demo's/shows is becasue of the dreadful and almost singular approach to music which is confirmed by the many YouTube videos ... being mainly made up of either female vocals or orchestral music, both of which I have no interest in. To get reps to play a bit of MJ would be like pulling teeth.

As for buying a valve amp .. maybe I should sell a bit of gear first to fund a purchase, but it's always been something I've wanted to try.
 
Make no mistake your theory of the importance of the chain is still and will always be as you listed.
Nothing can fix the shortcomings of the source further down the chain.
The only reason the efficiency of the loudspeaker came up was in response to your possible insertion of a valve amp.

You clearly know exactly what you are doing :)

Good luck with it and do report your findings
 
Make no mistake your theory of the importance of the chain is still and will always be as you listed.

These days it seems there are more changes happening at the source end of the chain, switch to digital radio, computer sources etc. So there is a greater risk of 'upgradeitis' with the source than with the speakers. Paradoxically it can make sense to spend the big $ on good speakers and keep them a long time - whilst you futz around with different sources.
 
My only concern is that many so called high-end speakers, in terms of components, are nothing of the sort, which is why i build my own.

Spot on...and me too !

I once went into the KEF factory for a tour years ago where I saw 105/3's and the 104/2's being built - astonishing build and component quality ( as reflected in the price ) - couldn't afford them sadly.
I also saw the cheaper ones being made round the corner - what an eye opener !

I guess what we all want is a pair of speakers that are totally capable of delivering what's being fed into them, an amp that can receive and amplify the signal without wrecking it and a source that unravels uncompressed recordings without robbing bits from it.
Add to that the hope the recording engineers don't have tinnitus or didn't have a hangover !

With vinyl I always worried about cartridges, arms, arm wiring, motor noise, power supplies and isolation from external interference and dust...lol.
Now my source concerns are lasers, power supplies, dac chips, cables and rubbish signal path components.

It's all a form of obsessive madness - which I really enjoy...and my wife doesn't :D

It never really ends
 
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