Hi Bchiu
you'll find costs rise much more quickly for powerful tube amps ( SS not so much) than bigger efficient speakers, so that's a simple answer to yer Q.
BTW you should find the type of speaker you love 1st rather than putting the cart before the horse. E.g. forcing a small tube amp on an inefficient speaker. BTW I reckon most folks here in this thread have full range type speakers (and music tastes ) that are well suited to their amps. You must find a system E.g. amp +speakers that work together. Your problem is you still don't know what you like! I can tell you that buying various tube amps willy nilly wont ever get you there but for sure your wallet will be much lighter. Wisdom is knowing that buying cheap audio / tools is more expensive at the end. In fact ( as you found out) the cheapest items you can hardly give them away LOL
Last edited:
The Conn organ amp I described ended up selling for $82 plus shipping. One guy bid $80 on it around 9AM, somebody else sniped it out this evening with a minute left. Hope it finds a good home.
Last edited:
I may not know what I like. But I know what I don't like, YOU. Watts Wong with ya, why are you trashing my threads?
Well, if you ask in a thread,
your question will be answered.
Am I missing something here?
Changing tubes anywhere in the signal path makes a difference. With the more common tube types, there are various versions built by multiple manufacturers. Although they have similar characteristic curves, their linearity and frequency response properties vary widely (or subtly, depending on your perspective). This is easiest to detect in preamp tubes, since one style of tube will saturate at higher signal, provide more gain, or pass a different tonal response to everything downstream in the signal path. If you put a couple of tubes with exquisite frequency response and clarity upstream in the signal path, much more of what you want to hear makes it through to the power amp downstream.
This is another reason certain models of certain tubes carry heavenly price tags compared to their brothers. They have gained a reputation for producing a sound that highly trained ears approve of in high-end rigs. If your rig is not appropriately clean and clear enough in other sections (gain structure, passive components, speakers, etc.) you may not hear a difference between that $150 tube and a brother tube that costs $20 or less. A case of diminishing returns emerges once you get to a certain level: once you audition a certain set of tubes or speakers in your rig, it becomes obvious that they would make a noticeable difference. Much like your sticker shock with the Elekit, the whole thing becomes an investment decision. There are certain components where there are no cheap equivalent substitutes.
Last edited:
- Status
- Not open for further replies.