Entry into tubes


I would like to hear from experiences out there on good starting integrated tubed amps if making the transition from solid state. I live in semi rural coastal Georgia and am unable to audition anything, (living at the beach is hell.) I made my solid state decision based on 1) reviews and 2) availability/popularity (thinking easier to get repair and parts) and still believe that logic is sound for my situation. My present system is: Creek 4330, Bel Canto DAC 1 with Pioneer DVD as transport, PE Leon Prima mini monitors, and a PSB sub. I use XLO reference type 1 interconnect and XLO toslink with the DAC 1. I have both XLO Ultra type 6 speaker cable and the Mapleshade clearview golden helix speaker cables, (I prefer the Mapleshade.) I also use the Blue Circle BC84 line conditioner and all Blue Circle power cords. My long distance dealer assures me that I should wait on the upcoming Blue Circle hybrid integrated amp that should cost about $2500-$3000 sometime in 2001. That is a budget buster for me. Can we keep it under $1500, please? And, can we drive Maggies with it? Also, I played string bass in the school orchestra 25 years ago, so bass is a must. Great shopping with you, and thanks ahead for your thoughts and time typing. Charlie Daniell
danvetc
Tm12, the *quantity* of the bass is ok - not as good as i've heard, but it's ok. it would be acceptable, but the *texture* is also lacking - not as tonal, more like hi-fi than the real thing. two albums come to mind where this is really noticeable to me - both by patricia barbour: modern cool & cafe blue. it's also noticeable on a bluegrass cd called skip, hop, wobble, w/jerry douglas, russ barenberg, & edgar meyer. you're rite - i may never get to *audio nirvana*, but i'm gonna get closer in the bass! ;~) & you're also rite - could be an impedance mismatch. a well-respected engineer sez i should be getting a 3db drop if i insert a 100 ohm across the leads from my preamp-to-x-over, if the rogue's impedence is as the factory claims. well, i get a 3db drop w/a 2.2k ohm resistor, 100 ohms give me more like a 20db drop! so, this may be part of the problem. i *am* gonna try another tubed preamp; i'll keep y'all posted.
tm12, i forgot to ad - i'm using a pentagon p-3 fono stage into the rogue... doug
Good luck in your quest.You should give Coincident Interconnects a try if you can get a hold of a demo pair.