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Joey_V

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I want TOOBS... like seriously, I want tubes!

After hearing just what toobs did to Cherian's Scenarios, I cant stop thinking about toobs.

This sucks man... I was already all content with my setup and I was already all done with upgrading, but I still want to see what my Summits can do with toobs at the helm of it all.

So, I started looking on audiogon and I'm not very familiar with toobs.

I found this Jolida amp (apparently the Jadis are far removed from the poor Joey budget).

1144615936.jpg


http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1163898104

Anyway, I'm not very good with toobs so if you toob-fanatics could help me out, that would be great!

Nothing too expensive... budget is between $1K to 2.5K. $3K is reeeeaaaaally pushing it.

BTW, this wont happen for a few more months.. I'm bleeding dry here! :eek:

(Though not as bad as when I first got the Summits, boy.... the checking account was gushing blood at that time!)
 
But as I'm sure you've learned in med school "all bleeding stops, eventually." :D

regards
adrian
 
wipper snapper said:
But as I'm sure you've learned in med school "all bleeding stops, eventually." :D

regards
adrian

Unless you go into hypovolemic shock and die.

:( :D :eek:
 
Joey,
I would not jump in to a "toob" amp right away. I would upgrade your preamp to a better preamp, a tube preamp, :D and see what that sounds like first. I believe you will be surprised and pleasantly pleased. IMHO, this is the best "bang" for your buck right now. By getting a tube amp, it will change the sound but not as dramatically as a tube preamp. :D:D

Just an opinionated/biased comment
Jeff :cool:
 
Used tube equipment from a local "take care of you" high-end shop is the way to go.

Some of the shops in your area may even post on Audiogon, mine did.
 
Joey,

Hold off if you can. I can bring my tube amp over next week and you can have a good listen. Even keep it for a few days then make up your mind.
 
Toobs...

Joey,

Toobs do sound lovely. I trust toobs will sound fantastic with ML's... It is good to know you like the sound toobs made on Cherian's toobed Scenario's. I know Roberto prefers his CLS with toobs. I hope to audition ML's with toobs someday. Check out McIntosh's MC 275 amplifier it sound fantastic IMHO. ;)
 
Jeff Zaret said:
Joey,
I would not jump in to a "toob" amp right away. I would upgrade your preamp to a better preamp, a tube preamp, :D and see what that sounds like first. I believe you will be surprised and pleasantly pleased. IMHO, this is the best "bang" for your buck right now. By getting a tube amp, it will change the sound but not as dramatically as a tube preamp. :D:D

Just an opinionated/biased comment
Jeff :cool:

or you can skip the whole pre-amp thing like it did (i.e., AES Six Pacs and Placette Passive Pre-Amp fed by a EAR 834P tube phonostage).
 
Cherian said:
Joey,

Hold off if you can. I can bring my tube amp over next week and you can have a good listen. Even keep it for a few days then make up your mind.

Course I'll hold off... I wont be buying for a few months.

I have some willpower you know... :) .
 
Joey, I concur with Jeff, not to mention Cherian's offer of trying out his piece first. I have a Jolida integrated in my second sysytem and am quite happy with it (given it's relative price point). At this point for me I am quite happy with a good Class A amp driving my Logans, albeit mated up with a tube pre !!
 
Toobs Rule!

Yes, I find myself agreeing with many of my toob lovin' friends here. twich54, Jeff Zarret, Roberto and I would all recommend checking out the toobs on the pre-amp side first. You can always add toobs later when you bi-amp your Statements - because we all know that eventually you will have Statements (or their new equivalent) and we all know that you will be bi-amping them.

I'd think very long and hard about Jadis before I signed up to go that route though. I've heard that they can be shall we say "tempormental".

Keep in mind also that toobs require a bit more of a commitment from their owner. I think it's just a rite of passage myself, but they will need attention to details and occasional TLC. Let's not even get into toob rolling yet.

My grandfather used to have a saying (totally not politically correct and edited for content). "If it's got breasts (not his word) or a carburator on it - sooner or later you're gonna have to do some extra work on it". I guess the same could be said for toobs.

By the way, the above statement does not reflect the views of this forum, nor is it intended to be a slight to any gender, or make of auto. Furthermore, it is not directed at any race, religion, culture or age group. For that matter, the above does not pertain to any person real or ficticious. The reuse or distribution of the above material without the express written permission of the author is strictly forbidden.
 
Joey, if you decide to go for it, don't overlook vintage gear. Consider a Citation II like I've got, or a pair of Dyna Mk III monoblocs. But like Jeff mentioned, get a tube preamp first, and again, don't overlook the vintage stuff! I'm thinking a hotrodded McIntosh C-20 or similar. I've got an MX-110 that I've played with, and I love it. I'm into it for less than 1k including the price of the preamp. MX-110s come up for auction fairly often, and you might get really lucky at a garage sale! If you get one, I'll tell you what to do with it.
Regards,
Ross
 
I'm another one that would recommend a tube preamp first. Like Jeff, this is a biased opinion, albeit one that makes a lot of sense.
 
This is an older pre but its still regarded very highly the Carver C-19. It come up on e-bay from time to time. Joey you know how I feel about Carver.
 

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I gotta put in a plug for the Modwright SWL 9.0SE Pre (Tube/SS hybrid)... really adds that touch of tube warmth and soundstage, without sacrificing clarity in the bass region. Another advantage of a tube Pre is they generally don't need tube biasing, yet allow tube rolling, if so desired.

Although the Modwright price just went up, Dan gave me a good deal on a "demo" unit (with full warranty). Those units also occasionally come up on A'gon, but of course without any warranty.
 
My grandfather used to have a saying (totally not politically correct and edited for content). "If it's got breasts (not his word) or a carburator on it - sooner or later you're gonna have to do some extra work on it". I guess the same could be said for toobs.

By the way, the above statement does not reflect the views of this forum, nor is it intended to be a slight to any gender, or make of auto. Furthermore, it is not directed at any race, religion, culture or age group. For that matter, the above does not pertain to any person real or ficticious. The reuse or distribution of the above material without the express written permission of the author is strictly forbidden.
The above statement has some truth to it. Why do you think toobs rhyme with ____s? But I like "tinkering" with those things anyway. Oops, I forgot to get express written permission from the author.

My first toob amp was a Jolida 501A integrated that I bought a couple of years ago for $450. It was not very refined and could have been improved with some minor mods. But overall it was a good sounding unit that had no problem driving Aeons or Ascents. I did some tube rolling with it and learned how to adjust bias which is simple once you've done it a couple of times. I since sold it but now I wish I still had it. Something like this is a good way to get into to toobs without a large investment.
 
I don't know why, but Van Alstine tube stuff gets very little press. Their stuff is quite good and when you order it you get to speak to the owner-boss-designer first-hand. I've had (in my secondary system) a VA Transcendence hybrid preamp and a SuperPas 3 (a modified Dyna PAS.) VA also markets a line of hybrid power amps. I haven't heard them, but I'll bet that they sound really good. The best part - they're less expensive than almost anything else with tubes.
 
Jeff Zaret said:
Joey,
I would not jump in to a "toob" amp right away. I would upgrade your preamp to a better preamp, a tube preamp, :D and see what that sounds like first. I believe you will be surprised and pleasantly pleased. IMHO, this is the best "bang" for your buck right now. By getting a tube amp, it will change the sound but not as dramatically as a tube preamp.
I also agree with Jeff, as a Tube Pre and a SS Amp has always been my personal preference for sound. I used to run Counterpoint equip with this type of setup, and now I run the ARC Tube Pre and the Plinius SS Class A.

Remember you need to listen to tube stuff first and then decide if you like what you hear for a Pre and/or Amp. And listen to as many manufactures as you can, as each has their own type of sound.

Dan
 
I'm going to look at all the Toob Pre's that you guys mentioned and I'll be on the lookout for the Jolidas as a possible stepping stone.

Do you guys think that a Toob integrated amp is good enough to push the Summits' panels? Or is the dip to .7ohm at 20khz troubling?

Joey
 

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