Which tube amplifier with Vandersteen?

[mika]

Hello everyone.
I have a pair of Vandersteen 2ce signature and i was thinking of buying an amplifier (integrated or not doesnt really matter right now because i can use a Denon avr-2106 that i have,as pre-amp).
I am concidering of tubes for my Vandys,and i was reading some reviews about primaluna's prologues( two,four,five,six and seven).Does anyone have any clue about these amps and about any other tubes for my speakers?

[Bernd]

Hello everyone.
I have a pair of Vandersteen 2ce signature and i was thinking of buying an amplifier (integrated or not doesnt really matter right now because i can use a Denon avr-2106 that i have,as pre-amp).
I am concidering of tubes for my Vandys,and i was reading some reviews about primaluna's prologues( two,four,five,six and seven).Does anyone have any clue about these amps and about any other tubes for my speakers?

Hi Mika,

The Prima Luna range is the tube buzz product at the moment. On the plus side is that they also sound pretty good and appear to be reliable. To these eyes however they are a little industrial looking. You could also check out Eastern Electric and of course not forgetting Unison Research for a truely sublime musical presentation. Also the Sugden A21 is an amp to consider. It is Solid State but runs in pure Class A and is very Tube like sounding. Pathos Classic one is another to consider. Hope this helps.

Peace

Bernd

[Mr Peabody]

Cayin has a wide variety of tube integrated amps. Some are designed to immulate famous tube amps by the likes of McIntosh and vintage tube Marantz. You can look at www.acousticsounds.com. Almost every tube company has at least one integrated, you can also look at American amps from Manley, VTL or Rogue Audio. I think these get over $2k new though where PrimaLuna and Cayin can be had for $1,100.00 or so.

To my ears I found Vandersteens extremely warm sounding, I'd be afraid getting a tube amp with a "classic" tube sound, that your sound will be quite rolled off or lacking dynamics. I'd look for something with 6550's and a rep for not sounding rolled off. PrimaLuna, Cayin and a few other entry level tube amps offer auto bias adjust which is a nice feature. I'd also recommend getting an integrated or both pre and power. Using a receiver for preamp would limit your sound quality and not let you get the full potential of the power amp. Also, most who mix SS and tube go the other way, tube pre and SS power because SS offers better bass control in most instances.

You didn't give a price range. I use Conrad-Johnson and fell in love. I can only describe it as musical yet it's not like stereotypical tube sound. Conrad-Johnson also has some MOSFET solid state power amps that are said to sound very good which may be more affordable. It's the MF series. These are said to be musical as well with the juice to push difficult loads. A friend of mine used one to push a pair of Martin Logan Requests. There are some deals on www.spearitsound.com / used, demos & close outs.