[kbuzz3]

It will keep sam tellig and stereophile on thier unbelievable musical fidelity streak.

If one must buy a tube buffer why not look at space tech.....at

[skrivis]

It will keep sam tellig and stereophile on thier unbelievable musical fidelity streak.

If one must buy a tube buffer why not look at space tech.....at

Sam Tellig is noted for such things as Armorall and green magic marker on CDs. He's slightly entertaining, but that's about it.


If one must buy a buffer why not an AVA line driver?
http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/buffered_line_driver/index.htm

It's bound to be far superior to those tube buffers.

[doug s.]

Why do tube lovers like a preamp that's likely to be unstable?

The designer is either unaware that you can't have "zero-feedback," or he's lying to you. He's pandering to those who think that any NFB is somehow evil. (And pandering is the right term indeed.)

What's "high speed circuit board material?" Do they treat it with go-fast juice or something?

That Ayre thing is probably not for you anyway. They do something that "eliminates all wiring" and you'll be adding lots of wiring back in with your  ...

who knows whether i'd like this pre or not - i have never heard it.  but, i have heard favorable comments from those who have.  no comments at all about its being "likely unstable".  so, whatever bs the mfr sez about it, i would hazard a guess that it's *not* "likely unstable", whatever else it is...

re: my present preamp, it's fine as-is, thank you.  no need to use buffer stages between it & my amp/s.  but, i still find buffer stages a worthwhile addition between tuners/cdp's & preamps.  that ava unit ya mention is too expensive, imo...

re: ic's, i have found alphacore tq2 & micropurl ag to be extremely neutral - what i prefer in ic's - and they do not break the bank, especially when purchased used, as all mine were....

regards,

doug s.

[skrivis]

who knows whether i'd like this pre or not - i have never heard it.  but, i have heard favorable comments from those who have.  no comments at all about its being "likely unstable".  so, whatever bs the mfr sez about it, i would hazard a guess that it's *not* "likely unstable", whatever else it is...

re: my present preamp, it's fine as-is, thank you.  no need to use buffer stages between it & my amp/s.  but, i still find buffer stages a worthwhile addition between tuners/cdp's & preamps.  that ava unit y ...

I'll admit I really don't understand what a buffer between your source and preamp will do that the preamp won't do by itself if it's any good, but we'll let that pass.

As for instability, you might want to read up on what "zero feedback" really means.

I'd also be very leery of any company that is pitching "high speed circuit board material." They're either incompetent, or they're liars. Either way, I'd look elsewhere....


To get back on topic, I'd say that AVA preamps don't need tube buffers, whether MF or anyone else's.

[boead]

Apparently this is a fine cathode buffer that many owners are happy with.
It’s a Decware Z-Box, http://www.decware.com/newsite/zbox.htm

I have to agree with the opinion here that a buffer is either coloring the system or fixing something that is wrong/mismatched.

I believe some sources will benefit from a cathode buffer but its still a fix. One owner I read from that owns an Arcam FMJ tried one and said it only degraded his systems sound. Other owners of considerably lesser quality sources report significant increases in quality. I’m not sure if spending hundreds of dollars on a tube buffer to ‘fix’ a cheap’ish source is wise. I’d recommend purchasing a used player that doesn’t need fixing/correcting for the same overall cost.

I found that many sources/preamps do not have low impedance and do not have high output drive. These tube buffers ‘correct’ these shortcomings. In my case, my source (FMJ) and preamp (T7) already has a very low output impedance and high current. Franks comments are very correct; there is no way a tube buffer could offer any benefit.

[doug s.]

Apparently this is a fine cathode buffer that many owners are happy with.
It’s a Decware Z-Box, http://www.decware.com/newsite/zbox.htm

I have to agree with the opinion here that a buffer is either coloring the system or fixing something that is wrong/mismatched.

I believe some sources will benefit from a cathode buffer but its still a fix. One owner I read from that owns an Arcam FMJ tried one and said it only degraded his systems sound. Other owners of considerably lesser quality sources report significant increases in quality. I’m not sure if spending hundreds of dollars on a tube buffer to ‘fix’ a cheap’ish source is wise. I’d recommend purchasing a used player that doesn’t need fixing/correcting for the same overall cost.

I found that many sources/preamps do not have low impedance and do not have high output drive. These tube buffers ‘correct’ these shortcomings. In my case, my source (FMJ) and preamp (T7) already has a very low output impedance and high current. Franks comments are very correct; there is no way a tube buffer could offer any benefit.

re: cd playback, i cannot comment about better sources.  i still haven't tried my buffers w/my highly modded art di/o dac, as i was so pleased w/its sound after mods.  the buffer certainly made my mid-fi nad cdp sound a lot better.  i really need to hook up my buffer to my dac & see what happens...

but, w/fm tunas - a passion of mine - i have found these to be beneficial w/all the tunas i have tried - even models considered to be among the best ever made - revox b760, tandberg 3001a, philips ah673, etc.  even my best tuna - a highly modified harmon kardon citation 18 benefits from one, albeit only slightly.  is the buffer "colouring" something?  well, it certainly makes things sound more *musical*!    

of course, for quality fm (which many folk have never experienced, & therefore doubt its existence), you need a quality uncompressed signal (virtually unheard of with commercial broadcasts), and a good method of capturing that signal.  i have heard some live broadcasts that sound like folks are in my room.  and, the jazz, latin, & world music my fave local station plays sounds as good as my winyl & digital sources.

re: the decware buffer, even at its intro price of $400, i still think that's kinda spendy, since the kailin, at <$200 is really nice, as is the ase z-man, which also goes for <$200 on the rare occasions that they come up f/s.

doug s.