[harryf]

Ok ill admit i hev a very sick cornet2.I also have a nice bugle.I have listened to both working right.
If you have a solid state amp go for the cornet 2.
It will add warmth.
If you are tubes as i am go bugle.
No hum just easy great sound.
I use cymbals and clarinets so you milage may vary!

[david62]

That says a lot about the Bugle.

[bluenoteJML]

I've been following another thread about cornet2's and hum.  When I started reading the other thread, I was saying to myself 'Ha!' I don't have any hum or noise at all.  Then I went and turned my Jolida 502 up to half way and now I'm not saying 'Ha!' anymore.  I don't normally listen to music that load as it seems to annoy my neighbors, not sure why.  I have a question about the bugle vs the cornet.  I have been under the assumptions that as the cornet2 is tube and the bugle is not, that the exact opposite of what harryf is saying would be true.  Why would the non-tube solution seem to be better with tubes?  Thanks - appreciated the resonses in advance.   

[Theo]

That says a lot about the Bugle.

Yes, Bugle is quite a value build.  I started with one three years ago and moved up to a Cornet2 a year later.  Three months ago I'd decided to upgrade the stock coupling caps in the Cornet2 by bypassing with Russian FT3.  Meanwhile I'd slotted the Bugle back in while I was working on the upgrade.  I rediscovered that the sonic difference between Bugle and Cornet2 is not subtle.  In quick comparison the Bugle sounds dryer, leaner and lacks depth.  With FT3 bypass, treble becomes more refined, instrument separation and focus have greatly improved, further distanced the Bugle even more.  To be fair, my Cornet2 has Obbligato caps bypassed by FT3, and K40Y9 for RIAA circuit, but my Bugle is stock with LM4562 opamp.  YMMV, but the point I am getting at is that the Cornet2 has very high tweaking potential and a hell lot more fun.  I haven't even started with tube rolling yet.  And indeed, the Bugle has almost silent background and the Cornet2 hums a bit.

[PatOMalley]

I am using 5751 tubes which drops the gain a bit and drops the hum with it.
RCA blackplate and a GE /w an Amperex 7316 lastwhich keeps the dynamics up but the dark side dark.

[poty]

Why would the non-tube solution seem to be better with tubes?

The answer is rather simple. Tubes always add to the sound. Most audiophiles like not the purity and correctness of what they hear, but the "richness", "comfort", ... - the things which are very subjective. The tubes allow people to experiment with the sound easier than for example transistors. It is attractive even if it is cost some sound problems.