Warm sounding tube amp

From my calculations, your ears are broken.

Joke aside, have you thought about getting a warm sounding DAC? How many different tubes have you tried with the 332 Classic?

How about the Decware CSP2?

Well since you say that combination is already bright, I think it will be impossible to achieve a warm sound to your ears. What music do you listen to? What bitrate is it (if you use a computer)? I would try getting a very warm, musical DAC if possible, as I don't really see how tube amp with a warm sounding tube isn't warm enough already. I don't think upgrading tube amps will yield better results to your ears. Woo Audio 6 amps are recommended a LOT or HD650, however. Maybe you ought to give that a shot, a long with a copper recable maybe?

Ozer, I share your view that the DV332 is bright. I own one. Contrary to what some of the posters in this thread have with good intention suggested to you, your ears are not broken, nor is it impossible to achieve a significantly warmer sound with a different amp. 

In fact, the DV332 is very, very bright. From my own experiences listening to the DV332, it sounds to me that the amp is by no means linear and shows a pronounced hump at about the 4Khz to 8Khz range. To check this out for yourself, just put an eq in front of it and pull that area way down and you'll see that the high end still comes through without problem. 

After first purchasing the amp a while ago, I had a look all around Head-Fi to make sense of the overly bright sound of the amp. If you do the same, you'll find that somebody (I don't remember who) posted on the amp's brightness in about that same range I mention above.

Nor is the amp very tubey sounding. There's a very helpful post by cotdt in which that assessment of the DV337 (which shares circuit features with the DV332) is made when compared to some other amps: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/219504/darkvoice-337-a-review#post_2883067 . cotdt is right to say that the DV332 sounds more like a solid state amp than do most tube amps.

You might want to have a look at one of my posts here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/267000/darkvoice-336i-vs-332/15#post_6588142 . I discuss the DV332 versus the MG Head MkII in OTL mode.

A few warnings: some in this thread have suggested that you might tame the harshness of the DV332 with a non-sampling DAC. Trust me -- that will not work. I have an MHDT Constantine DAC, and it didn't fix the problem. Others have suggested that you might do more tuberolling. In my estimation that won't solve the problem either. In fact, of the various tube amps I've heard, changing tubes on the DV332 affects it much less. I've got all the tubes most name as the best for the amp -- Power: Svetlana 6c19n-b; Ulyanov 6c19n; Ulyanov 6c19n-b; Preamp: CV4010, Ericsson 403B.

If you want a tubey amp, pick up an MG Head markII or markIII, and use the OTL mode. You can probably get one pretty cheap these days, since most Head-Fiers are more interested in other, newer amps. Another possibility is the Woo3, though I've not heard one. Yet another possibility -- and maybe a really great one, though I've not yet heard it either-- is the Bottlehead Crack OTL kit. You could get it with the C4S upgrade and have a great amp, learn more about amp circuits, and lose the fatigue you've experienced listening to the DV332. I recently bought a Crack kit and will soon receive it in the mail.

Just one last thought: I don't know what sort of music you're listening to. Some who listen to rock music do not like the way the MG Head (and other triode OTL amps) deal with the low end. If you listen mainly to classical, then this is no problem at all. But the C4S upgrade to the Crack will clean up the bass. Have a look at the bottlehead site. Or just get an MG Head, listen in OTL mode, and get used to the sloppy bass. Since the midrange and upper end are done so well by the MG Head, you'll probably learn to accept that relatively sloppy low end.
 

Yeah, the DV332 had the rep of being bright sounding.  I never heard one myself.

Regarding the CSP-2, while I think incredibly highly of it, it's not warm sounding.  It's very neutral.  A tiny bit of tube richness in the mids, but I would not buy one thinking it will warm things up.

The Ming Da MC 84 C07 is on the warm side, but sounds great, and lots of people love it with Senns. 

Just extrapolating a bit here, but there's an older (in this context, older is better) 6CG7 Singlepower PPX3 on Audiogon that might be sonically right up your alley. Standard Singlepower caveats apply, so the prerequisite is that you either need to be a fast learner or have access to a decent tube tech.

These amps can be an excellent match for efficient higher impedance headphones like the HD650.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozer 

Thanks for the tip Skylab.... But I think I will go for something more expensive.... like 700$, I don't just want to change my amp, but upgrade... Any tips on other amps for around 700$ that is warm sounding. It would be great if it has a great choice of tubes too, and not too expensive ones...

Hmmm...well the CSP-2 is my go-to amp in the $700 price range - I think it beats amps that are more expensive.  But as I said, it's not really "warm" sounding, per se.

The Darkvoice 337 might be your best bet.  It is for sure a little warm-sounding.  And you can make it warmer still with the right tubes.  GREAT sounding amp, too, and quite the bargain.  As long as you have the space (it's pretty big), and you don't mind the dual-volume controls, it's a very nice amp, and is about $700 with shipping.  Note I am referring to the regular version - I have never heard the SE version.