[Tyson]

I started out in HiFi on all SS gear and only came to tubes later.  I heard a lot of tube gear a long time before I actually bought a piece of tubed gear.  My first piece of tubed equipment was the Audible Illusions M3A preamp.  Then it was a tubed dac, and eventually tube amps (the custom KT88 amps I have now).  What was your journey?

[acresm22]

My route to tubes started in the 90s with an old Fender Princeton guitar amp from the 60s. I LOVED that amp, and still do. My journey into a tubed audio system began almost 10 years ago with the purchase of a pair of Wright 2A3 monos...went from a 125 watts/channel Aragon amp driving Martin Logan Arius speakers to the 3.5 watts/channel Wrights driving a homemade pair of Terry Cain's bigger-is-better horns with Radio Shack 40-1354 full range drivers. Never looked back ; - )

[Pez]

My 1st was the Radii DPP-105 amp then later the Radii preamp. Great stuff! As a matter of fact I owned them for years and years before I ended up selling them here at AC to a good home!

[bacobits1]

A Decware SE83, 5 watts/ch, then up graded to the Decware Signature Monos after that. I had these probably the longest. I added Speltz Autoformers to these with later adding an MFA Magus B. It was very very good.
Fun stuff.

D

[Steve]

Mine was, as a kid, an old Crosley Super 6 and Coronado radio among other brands I cannot remember now (Radios were quite old by then). I still have alot of tubes that I pulled from those old radios. Fond memories indeed listening to high school basketball tournaments and WLS with Larry Lujack etc.

Cheers.

[BobRex]

A conrad johnson PV1 upgraded to PV2 status.  I had been in denial before that, arguing that SS was better, based upon my technical education ( I had my AS in EET at that time.)  This was around 1982 or 83.  I was working for a local high end store and the owner told me to just take the pre home and listen to it.  I did, and as colored, noisy, and bandwidth limited as that piece was, It still held sway over a Hegman HAPI 2 and Hafler 101.  We became cj dealers later that year, then eventually took on VTL also.  We were also courted by Audio Research, but their stock demands were too stringent for us.

Anyway, I've heard a lot more tube and SS equipment since then, and I have yet to hear an SS piece that has that certain "magic".

[jimdgoulding]

A Dyna Van Alstine modified PAS 3 pre.  Later, a Precision Fidelity pre.  Still have a not working Counterpoint SA5 pre with an outboard tube power supply (the part that's not working).

[Wind Chaser]

Audio Research
      - Line Stage 2
      - Classic 30

Good looking and nice sounding stuff.  The bottom end of the Classic 30 was a too mushy, but what a glorious midrange.  Stereophile Class A rated in its time. 

[mgalusha]

I had a Capehart tube console record player when I was 10-11 then moved up to a H.H. Scott when I was 12 or so. The addiction began early...

Oh, and loads of tube radios. Mom was the garage sale Queen back in the 70's.

[Indiansprings]

My first was the venerable Dynaco ST-70

[bunky]

My 1st tubes were a Musical Fidelity Tube buffer, then soon after a Anthem Pre 1L preamplifier and then i bought a Sonic Frontiers SFS 80 tube power amplifier from a friend of Audiojerry and i have been a tube enthusiast ever since then 

[TheChairGuy]

I started out in HiFi on all SS gear and only came to tubes later.  I heard a lot of tube gear a long time before I actually bought a piece of tubed gear.  My first piece of tubed equipment was the Audible Illusions M3A preamp.  Then it was a tubed dac, and eventually tube amps (the custom KT88 amps I have now).  What was your journey?

Spent years trying to make SS work for me, too...I still use a SS pre-amp.  As I find vinyl still to be the hi-res choice...it's quieter amplification for tricky eeny-weeny phono signals is slightly preferred over tube.

However, with amps...tube, preferably mono's, all the way.  Nearly no contest if the speaker load is fairly benign (mine is)

Bell Mono Integrated's that came from a console was my first taste.  Once I heard those luscious Sylvania 6V6 output tubes (despite the overly high gain, slight transformer buzz, flabby bass as it was non voltage regulated and so-so phono stage).... I was hooked 

On to Dukane 6CD6 50 watt monoblocks from there.  Amp-o-rama ended 4 years ago with them in my system...it's driven Maggies to Linaeums and a few speaker sin between - wonderfully 

Now I'm considering (voltage regulated, always for me) tube output digital player. The more tubes you add to digital I'm finding...the more enjoyable it becomes.

John 

[DavidS]

A Mapletree preamp - wondered what all the fuss was.  Sold it and went running back to solid sate for 5 years or so.  Now am back full time and can't really listen to solid state.

[Mortsnets]

1. Scott 299a
2. ASL Wave 8s
3. Musical Paradise MP-301

[Scott F.]

I had a Capehart tube console record player when I was 10-11 then moved up to a H.H. Scott when I was 12 or so. The addiction began early...

My start was very similar. I started with a Magnavox console (6BQ5) and graduated to a host of console 'pulls' over the next few years where I harvest the amps, tuners, turntables and speakers (horns). Somewhere around 1976 or so I switched over to SS with a Sansui quad and then Spectro Acoustics (which I still have).

[Ericus Rex]

Cary SLP-74 pre.  No SS pres since then.  Took a little longer to take the plunge and go all tube amp.  Then Quicksilver 8417s.

[nodiak]

Didn't get into tube audio till early 2000's - Decware - Zen/84C and Zsla1 (missed).
Eddie Vaughnn SE84 (pre Carinna). Very nice.
Eastern Electric mini max pre (missed).
Scott 222C, rebuilt. This one especially showed me the wide range of tone/sound possible from tube rolling.
Lost my audio focus and budget last couple years or would still be on the tube tour. Do currently use a nice sounding pre using four 7965's (with ss amp). Lots of interesting pieces out there, nice to read about them here.

[mcgsxr]

A Hagerman Clarinet built by a friendly AC'r was my first piece of tubed kit.

My first tube amp, is my Magnavox el84 amp, an old console rescue.

[driguy]

My first piece was a Counterpoint SA-7 line stage purchased new in '86 I think. Next was an SA-12 amp in '87. I went back to SS amps when I moved to a bigger house in '90 as I was driving a pair of Maggie 3.3R's. I didn't really get into tubes again until about 5 years ago after the switch to much more efficient speakers. (Dipoles with separate subs ~101db)
I now run a heavily modified pair of LadyDay 300b's and a 26 tube pre that I made from scratch.

[roscoeiii]

MiniWatt amp started it, then moved to a JE Labs 45/2A3 design made by Waamamps (here in Chicago, and the builder is great to work with), finally ended up with my Atma-sphere S-30s (loving the benefits of an OTL design, also able to lower the gain by using jumpers for a pair of the 6SN7s).

Otherwise, my primary journey over the past few years has been the FirstWatt line of amps from Nelson Pass, and his Pass Aleph 30. Stellar SS amps all of them. That journey included Pass-built F1, F2J, F3, and F4, and a DIY F2, and F5.

Good times all, but like many others, I've settled in with my Atma. I don't see it going anywhere, except to Ralph for some eventual upgrades.