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Baby Steps back to Tubes.

I have been thinking of doing this for a while now so I descided to go back to tubes gradually. I just bought a cary sl98p . I would like some recommendations for solid state amps that work well with this pre. For speakers I have NHT 3.3's so obviously, well to me anyway I would require at least 150 watts a side preferably more and high current. I am using a Musical Fidelity Tri Vista 300 integrated now and listen to more vynil than cd,s and have a Graham slee Reflex era gold for the phono end of it with a Michel Gyro SE mk II , Rega Exact II MM . Digital is an Esoteric DV 50S .I Primarily listen to rock and blues mostly 60's and 70's era.The room is 15 by 27 with 9 ft ceilings. I got away from tubes back in the late seventies when I first got married and now single and happy again thought I would give it a try again (the tubes that is!). Your experiences are much appreciated. Cheers!
has2be
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Has2be, is your question then what 30-60 watt tube amps do we recommend? Pauly, of course is right about that speaker with tubes. So are you just looking for tube amp recommendations of certain wattage and our price points? Seems you are already decided that tube amps with tube friendly speakers is the way you want to go. Another tube friendly speaker to consider would the Merlin VSMs when you are ready to make a speaker change. If sticking with SS, you can hardly do better than something from PASS with enough power for your NHTs.
has2be's avatar
has2be OP
422 posts
 
No that was not my question. It was a statement or more a wish to happen quicker. The question is the one asked at the start of the thread! Eventually down the road I may like to go tube amp and change speakers. But not right now. Thanks , have been eyeing the pass labs and have heard the X250.5 at the fellows house I bought the Esoteric DV50S from. Impressive. Cheers
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Sorry, misread your question. Then yes, hard to beat a Pass X series for driving a speaker like yours (the XA.5 series might be better a yet, but a lot more $$$ for the watts). Another SS brand to consider is Ayre or Symphonic Line (German), if you get a chance to audition.
tholt
545 posts
 
Consider also the Odyssey Line, Symphonic's "little brother". Many of the same parts as Symphonic. Huge bang for the buck. Their Stratos or Khartago amps can be had for ~$1k and up. Buy direct with a 30 day no questions, no re-stock fee policy. Or buy used for less here. Interesting write up about the Khartago in this month's Absolute Sound.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
$3500 will buy a used Moscode 401HR hybrid amp. In my system, the Moscode drove Von Schweikert VR4 Gen III HSE very, very well. The VR4 Gen III HSE speakers had a pretty diverse impedance curve dipping down to about 3.5 ohms. Therefore, I would think the Moscode would drive your NHT 3.3 quite well.

The 401HR allows tailoring of its sound through rolling small signal tubes. It's a terrific sounding, fun amplifier that's worth investigating.

However, if you're seriously contemplating making a speaker change, then I wouldn't make an amp change until you make the speaker change because you could find yourself reworking your amp choice yet again.
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