Buying Advice Tube Amps

[zevon]

I am new to the world of high end audio. I just made my first visit to a New York store yesterday and left with a few questions that some readers of this site maybe able to help with. I am looking to up grade my current system. Nothing worth mentioning here 10 year plus Nakamichi and Sony products, My current speakers are Polk Audio Monitor 70s. I am happy with them and would look to keep them. My questions are: Tube vs SS and Integrated vs seperate. I was shown Rogue Audio Tempest and Cronus integrated Amps, Cambridge solid state I think it was a 740a. The tube amp sound seemed fuller and more robust. One product that was not shown to me was a Peachtree Integrated Amp that includes a tube pre amp as well as a DAC. Has any one had experience with this product? Is it trying to do too much in one box? My budget for AMP/ Pre Amp or Integrated and a new turntable is $3,000 or so. Thanks for reading and I look forward to the advice and or recomendations.

[blackraven]

I would consider going with a tube preamp and a solid state amp but the Peachtree looks very interesting. You could probably do better with separates but for an all in one unit it looks like a great deal.

Here's a review on the Peachtree which is very favorable-

http://www.avguide.com/review/playba...ted-ampusb-dac

[Poultrygeist]

If you keep the Polks you won't get that much improvement no matter which amp you chose. With a 3 grand budget you can well afford to upgrade your speakers as well as your amplification and get a much greater return on your investment.

Speakers always make the greatest difference in any system.

[bobsticks]

If you like your speakers you're halfway there. I'm familiar with the Polk sound and can't imagine that tubes would yield anything but an extremely veiled sound. For my money I'd stick with a SS integrated, maybe an Arcam: http://stereophile.com/integratedamps/516/index.html

...and you can't go wrong with the Rega P5...and have a couple few bucks left to look at a cartridge upgrade...

[Hyfi]

I just had a second chance to listen to a Cambridge 840a and 840c coupled with Polk LSi25s coupled with a huge SVS sub.

The cambridge sound was nice but I found the speakers to be lacking a nice midrange and highs as well as having a small sweet spot.

I would recommend Cambridge, but sorry, I can't recommend the Polks when comparing them to my Danes or Clearfields or even my smaller JM Labs.

[blackraven]

I just had a second chance to listen to a Cambridge 840a and 840c coupled with Polk LSi25s coupled with a huge SVS sub.

The cambridge sound was nice but I found the speakers to be lacking a nice midrange and highs as well as having a small sweet spot.

I would recommend Cambridge, but sorry, I can't recommend the Polks when comparing them to my Danes or Clearfields or even my smaller JM Labs.

If thte highs were lacking using the 840c then its definitely the speakers. The 840c yields great highs. Its one of the strengths of this CDP.

[Mr Peabody]

If your heart is set on tubes I'd suggest taking a look at things like Manley "Stingray", Cayin has a wide variety, Prima Luna, have to love auto bias or you could probably get some older Conrad Johnson on the used market www.audiogon. www.acousticsounds.com used to carry a pretty good selection of tube gear. Check deals on www.spearitsound.com

I second the Rega TT but a P5 may be a bit expensive, the P3 has done pretty well for me. If the amp you decide on doesn't have a built in phono preamp you will need to get an outboard unit.