Grant Fidelity B-283 Tube Buffer: Worthwhile or No
Does putting a tube buffer into a solid state system actually improve the output, or is it all just hyped up the emporer has no clothes syndrome?
There's a Grant Fidelity B-283 tube buffer for sale here and I'm thinking about it. I have an Adcom GFA 535 amp, a Morrison pre amp and an Arcam CD75 CD player.
The real use for a tube buffer is not to tailor the sound, though it will for better or worse, but to make impedance differences between source and preamp or preamp and amp more system-friendly. This is accomplished via a high input impedance on the buffer, which in turn outputs a very low impedance.
The EE BBA I used for impedance matching added other things to the sound I didn't like.
So, Elizabeth you are comparing a $180 buffer with a $multi thousand pre amp. I would certainly expect the VAC to be better at that price differential. Apples & oranges.
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