New to tubes

•Hi and welcome to the tube World
•To get your feet wet try used 1k units from AgoN.
•Many to choose from ( make the list - set priorities. That is start.)
•Prime Luna is a great starter. Consonance 15th Anniversary int-amp looks quaite good - by any standards.
•And lastly, SQ 88 is not made by Consonance.
It is a brand of SQ (sound quest) - it is also good choice for "beginers".
That SQ88 was my best buddy's first tubey-glowey amp. A year latter he went through CJ used (new $7000) and now settle down with Consonance Cyber 211 (around 5k new)mono-blocks and loves it.

Ones you get a lick .....that is it, you'll be hooked.
Just a warning pal.

Yes that is one thing I have noticed - there is a almost overwhelming sea of variety in tube manufacturers, tube types/characteristics, modifications/tweaks, etc. Lots to learn - I guess I'll just pick one to start and see what I like from there. I live in the NYC area so I figure I can demo a few things as well. I went to look at the offerings from Consonance and I noticed the Cyber 10 Multi Integrated SET amp - neato all in one option for my lossless-encoded music files along with class A operation to boot. Not sure if it's enough juice for my MA's though....

I is a nice piece but your speakers might be under powered with only 12wpc.
It might be enough but I would not take the risk of recommending it base only on company's reputation or features. IMO, Prima Luna might be a the sefer choice. However, contacting qualify dealer will most likely answer your questions or recommende other alternatives within your budget.

Thanks for starting this thread Bfrank. I was going to start one almost identical to it. I too have some Monitor Silvers, though mine are the 9i set, just taller and a little deeper on the freq response (30Hz-25k I believe is their range). I have been using them with a B&K ref20/Sunfire Theater Grand for 6 or 7 years now. But they are getting an upgrade and moving to greener pastures since I have a full HT set hooked to the Sunfire now.

I am only beginning my research, but I like the idea of tubes. I think it would be fun to have a voltmeter and bias tubes every 3 to 6 weeks. Call me a kook. I really like the idea of experimenting with multiple different tube brands and discover which sound I like best. I listen to a pretty eclectic mix of music myself. A lot of British rock, indie rock, some classic American rock, some classical, some jazz, some hip hop, a tiny bit of rap, even a touch of country (Lucinda Williams is a badass). I am not sure a tube setup will be the best setup for a rock n roller, but the more jazz I buy (Ellington, Davis, Bassie, Adderly and Mony are my favorites atm) the more I buy, lol.

I have looked at and read about integrateds, separates, SS pre with tube amp, tube pre with SS amp (which seems like a nice balance), and even a Tube integrated with pre-outs to a SS amp to Bi-wire my 9is. And this is all just for pre/amp solutions. I haven't even scratched the surface of a source unit yet. I still have to decide if SACD and DVD-A are worth putting money into (Modded Oppo?), or if I just want a great redbook player (leaning toward MF A5 if so).

So, I would love to hear from you on impressions of the Monitors through a tube setup. It would help me better prepare myself for what I want to look at next. And anyone else here that wants to make suggestions to a mostly rock listener (I would guess ~80%), I am all ears. Thanks.

Thats cool - Judging by how the MA's sound with the Denon (a bit warmer on the SS side of things), I am hoping they will sound brilliant with tubes... hoping :) I spoken to alot of people about the Silver series, and it's kind of a love/hate thing overall. I in particular love them, though I do hear what people are saying about them being strong or edgy in the high range. A high impedance tube amp would likely roll the top end off a bit, which might be just the trick - as soon as I decide on something I will let you know my experience.

With regard to the SET, I know the sensitivity rating on the MA's is borderline. I also know that slight tube amp breakup is much easier on the ears than the abrupt clipping of SS, so tube watts tend to sound 'louder'. I also know many of these high end mini SET amps sound alot louder than their ratings compared to some other tube amps. And lastly I also have the powered MA ASW210 sub paired with my 5i's - so I am thinking of running the tube amp to the speaker level inputs of the sub and then out to the 5i's, and set the sub crossover at 60-80hz - this might put a bit less of a load on a smaller tube amp.... although I have no idea what kind of impedance curve the amp will see with this setup... guess I just have to jump in and try it! :)