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I have been in this hobby for almost 30 yrs, and have NEVER heard a tube amp I would own ... And in the never ending quest for new and exciting experiences, I am now considering a tube amplifier. To this point, I have been turned off completely by the syrupy, overly mellow, and colored sound of most tube amps. I can not stand an amp that rolls off frequencies, or had mushy, tubby, loose fisted bass. But now I have a friend who is doing his best to convince me that certain tube amps are now able to equal solid state amps when it comes to bass control and frequency extension .... amps which do not sound overly "tubey" ... So I decided to do some investigating on my own, and started reading recent reviews on highly regarded, newer technology tube amps .... and DAMN if there is simply NO agreeing on ANY of the ams in the reviews !!! It is just rediculous ! What am I looking for then ? I am looking for a tube amp, stereo or monoblocks, even integrated, which has the positive benefits of my McCormack DNA-500, but with an even more "real" richand present midrange. And an even larger soundstage ....So with a budget of say $7000 .... is there ANY chance at all a concencous can be agreed upon for a few amps I should be considering ?
Why do the tubes have to be in your amplifier? If I was listening "loud" on 88dB (in)efficient speakers I would personally lean toward a tube preamplifier with a powerful SS stereo amp or monoblocks.
I would look into a Threshold FET-10 or a PASS LABS preamp. The FET-10 or PASS LABS will significantly upgrade overall performance with your present setup. Check out the DIY website, and research the PASS LABS area. You will learn some interesting facts/opinions, etc.I own both a tube preamp and FET-10 ,which has a upgraded external power supply. While the tube preamp has some merits, overall, the FET-10 outperforms it. FET's can sound as good or better than tubes. Some well regarded designers own and use the FET-10 as a reference unit. As far as a DAC goes, I use a Cambridge Audio 840C CD/DAC unit, connected to the FET-10. The incoming data stream is converted to 24/384, and sounds outstanding.
My $.02 cents....Stick with your McCormack DNA-500....your speakers need this power.Add a good tube preamp....then you'll gain what your looking for....adding a stepped attenuator is not the same....and even with a tubed DAC...still not the same.
What does a preamp bring that I do not already have with the volume control in my DAC ?
The DAC will not give you more of the "real" rich and present midrange...how do I know...I've HEARD IT....
Ok .... so you are saying the ONLY reason for adding a preamp is to add tubes which will give me a bit more warmth ? I could do that with changing tubes in the DAC ... I am not trying to be obstinate, but this still makes no sense to me.
It provides sufficient gain to drive the power amp. A good preamp "conditions" the signal such that the power amp is fed a cleaner signal with better voltage/current supplied to the power amp. Tube preamps can sound excellent, BUT, while more reliable than tubed power amps, they are FAR too dependent on a "quiet" good sounding set of small signal tubes to perform at their best. Modern small signal tubes are not very good, and chasing NOS tubes for the holy grail is a dog's breakfast at best. A proper FET based circuit will provide better (more consistent) overall performance, and will be more reliable.
Well .... The EE DAC has a 3 volt output, which is more than any preamplifier I know of ... so there goes that theory
