Hybrid vs. Straight Tubes

If yoo really want to find out why tubes have a very dedicate bunch of fanatics. To hear what makes a tube amp really magical, it is imperative that you have an all tube power output stage . Not a shadow of doubt period about it.

TVAD writes:

"However, I heard a significant change in the Moscode 401HR hybrid amplifier by changing non-output, nine-pin tubes."

The same can be said for changing the input tubes in tube amps as well. Changing cables will change the sound too, so I'm not really sure what the point of that statement is.

But I do know that I used to use tube/MOSFET hybrid amps and now I'm back to all tube designs. This is not to say that I'm not open to trying other designs in the future.

...so I'm not really sure what the point of that statement is.
Plato (Threads | Answers)

The point of the statement was to offer another perspective on Newbee's comment, wherein he wrote, "I think the real 'sound' of tubes is found in the amp output not in a couple of tube drivers in front of a SS output."

I found with the Moscode 401HR hybrid amplifier that changing the driver and input tubes made a difference, which some listeners might consider being close to "the real sound of tubes", as Newbee put it. In fact, I heard more significant changes when rolling the Moscode's driver and input tubes than I have when changing driver or input tubes in a premium 100% tube amp I have owned (VAC Phi 110/110). IMO, the VAC was fairly impervious to tube rolling, which I always considered a sign of design excellence.

There are many ways to approach amplification. Each topology has its winners and losers. There is no definitive winner that will satisfy every listener and every system, no matter how emphatically the case is made.

I hope that helps makes my point clearer.

I've heard the Jolida hybrid amps and have not been impressed. That said, I guess I haven't been overly impressed with the Jolida 302b I had years ago. Overall, I'd probably go for a tube integrated, perhaps something other than Jolida.

Given the choice of a tube or hybrid integrated amp, I'd agree with Peter_s and recommend trying a tube integrated amp. Your speakers are sufficiently sensitive to be driven by a 40 wpc tube amp, provided the room is small to medium size.

You might look at a used PrimaLuna Prologue 2 or Rogue Cronus and see what you think. However, neither of these amps is going to be particularly colored. They are going to sound more neutral than otherwise. I have owned a Rogue Cronus, and I have heard he PrimaLuna at CES.

If you buy used, you resell it without taking a big depreciation hit.