[maxxy]

I have DT880 cans, and have heard that they pair up best with tube amps... but I see that these amps are a serious headache - choosing proper tubes, tube longevity (or lack thereof), tube price, biasing, humming, microphonics, heat, warm up time... the list goes on. Is it really worth all the trouble for a noob? I would like to just purchase a good amp that will hold for a few years without too much trouble (I don't have upgraditis

). Are tube amps that much better for the DT880? A "night and day" kinda difference? Opinions please

 

[PFKMan23]

I don't think tube amps are that much more trouble than solidstate amps. I jumped full on into tubes fairly early on and I could be happier. I've also gotten to demo and hear some other stuff, but I'm still very happy with what I have.. I think you'd be making a good choice by going to tubes, if that's the path you want.

 

[jsaliga]

Serious headache? I think most of these issues are way overstated. Depending on the amp, tubes are not necessarily all that expensive and I don't see them as a hassle. I'm using a Darkvoice 332 and I think the sound is lush, rich, and quite enveloping with my Sennheiser HD650s some inexpensive Russian 6S19P-Bs and NOS Western Electric 403As is all it took. The tubes came in the mail, I pulled the stock Chinese tubes out and installed the new tubes. Done. After about 30 hours or so on these new tubes the amp provides a considerably richer listening experience, and all for about $30 in tubes.

All that said, you might prefer to just by an amp and hook it up, and then call it a day. No muss no fuss. There are plenty of great solid state amps for less than $600 you can by. The Heed CanAmp is all the rage these days, though I don't now how it well it matches up with the DT 880s. I can say that the Darkvoice 332 has very good synergy with the Beyers, as I own a pair (though I sold them today).

--Jerome

 

[Hi-Finthen]

IMO...What we have here is the difference between listening to good music, and the persuit of a higher quality presentation of the music we listen to with added audiophile qualitys such as tone of the instruments, their layering and seperation upon a wider soundstage. All of which, the application of a well implemented tube amp significantly brings to the presentation as well as more of an analogue source sound, although originating from a digitalized format.

Now is it worth it, is another question entirely.

However, another way to go about gaining these qualitys which may be simpler to interject into an existing system would be to add a very good analogue sounding DAC. Which would attack the problem / solution at its source. Pun intended

Going from S.S. to tube amplification depending upon the tube choice and to a great degree the iron used (transformers) what is often lost is well defined, deep and as articulate bass frequency presentations. This is then also dependant upon the choice of phone driven of course.

My advice would be to interject into your system a quality DAC bought used perhaps, and see if that brings you a great amount of satisfaction and these audiophile qualitys to your musics presentation for you.

I would highly recommend the MHDT labs DAC products for you to research and perhaps to try.

Hope this helps, good luck~

 

[maxxy]

I've definitely been debating with my wallet if to get the DV 336i ($330 shipped) or 332 ($430 shipped), Heed Canamp ($?) or the Corda Headfive ($210~ used)... I heard the longevity of tubes is around 2000 hours, is that correct?

 

[PFKMan23]

A couple things. The Corda Aria and the HeadFive are 2 different products. One is an amp/DAC combo the other is an amp only. Secondly about the tubes, it depends on on tubes used and how they are run (circuit topology, how hard they are run within the amp, etc..). That being said 2000 for a new tubes is on the lower side of things.

 

[maxxy]

Hi-Finthen, gotta love head-fi... ask for amp advice and you convince me about DACs I'm not made out of money!

How's the Beresford DAC? Been eyeing that one ($200~)...

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've definitely been debating with my wallet if to get the DV 336i ($330 shipped) or 332 ($430 shipped), Heed Canamp ($?) or the Aria Headfive ($210~ used)... I heard the longevity of tubes is around 2000 hours, is that correct?

Depending upon their implementation, 2000 hours would be a short life span expectation in our applications and generally speaking, 5,000 - 10,000 hours would be more their average lifespan for our applications.

 

[GotNoRice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif choosing proper tubes

This shouldn’t really be an issue. Most amps come with their own tubes, which you can of course change out, but it’s usually simply a matter of searching for compatible model numbers, no big deal really, and there are usually people on here who have already tried it with a particular amp.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif tube longevity (or lack thereof)

Most tubes actually have a pretty decent lifespan, often lasting years. By the time they need to be replaced chances are you’ll already have different tubes on hand from experimenting. Otherwise, they really aren’t too expensive unless you’re going for a really rare or exotic tube.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif tube price

Well this would obviously differ between amps but most of the tube purchases I’ve made have been less than $20 per pair. Not bad really.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif biasing

I don’t really think this is necessary on these types of amps.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif humming

This can be an issue, but is usually not.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif microphonics

The tubes I’ve used haven’t been very microphonic really. I can tap the outside of the case and hear a “ding” but that’s about it.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif heat

This could potentially cause problems, but I have solid state equipment that gets just as hot. A bit of air circulation seems to make a world of difference.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif warm up time

This is sort of overblown. It might take an amp 5-15 mins to sound best after it’s turned on, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to sound bad during that time. Often times people can’t really tell a difference after the first 30 seconds or so.
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif A "night and day" kinda difference?

No, I wouldn’t say that, and if that’s what you’re looking for I think you’ll be disappointed. The differences likely won’t jump out at you. You might notice the difference in things like being able to listen for longer periods without listening fatigue, etc. That’s not to say that there aren’t real differences in the music, there are, but don’t expect a miracle.

 

[maxxy]

GotNoRice, thanks for the informative post!

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi-Finthen, gotta love head-fi... ask for amp advice and you convince me about DACs I'm not made out of money! How's the Beresford DAC? Been eyeing that one ($200~)...

LOL... Sorry about that. I'm in bliss since adding my MHDT DAC to my systems and I just wanted to offer a wider discussion on how to bring improvements to a given system.

I have no experience with the Beresford DAC, however read all about it and every other DAC up to $1000... The Dac Ah may be of interest to you, Jahn recommends it! Maybe with the Heed?

I'll offer the fact that "Warrior", sold me his DAC moving to the C.S. (station) driving his RS-1s from its headphone outs and is a 'happy camper", his words

... He also has the 880s I do believe, which will be deiven with his DarkVoice, C.S. as source...

You might PM him with specific questions, if he doesn't chime in here....

BTW, The Heed with its somewhat tubey sound, is all but as pleasing as my Mapletree... A very good deal indeed is the CanAmp for your consideration.

Good luck~

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have DT880 cans, and have heard that they pair up best with tube amps... but I see that these amps are a serious headache - choosing proper tubes, tube longevity (or lack thereof), tube price, biasing, humming, microphonics, heat, warm up time... the list goes on. Is it really worth all the trouble for a noob? I would like to just purchase a good amp that will hold for a few years without too much trouble (I don't have upgraditis ). Are tube amps that much better for the DT880? A "night and day" kinda difference? Opinions please

um.... I've had my tube amp for 7 months and never had any humming, micro phonic, biasing or longevity problems..... only i sometimes can't wait out the 13sec it takes for the amp to warm up.

 

[vcoheda]

tubes amps are nice and really no more trouble than a solid state. there is definitely a different sonic signature going from one to the other, although as some have mentioned, it is not night and day. i can recommend the ld2++ as a nice entry level tube amp ($200), although there are others in this price range. just as people have different phones to suit different types of music and moods, it is nice and sometimes just convenient to have more than one amp.

 

[AV8TR]

Maxxy, aren't the helpful people on this forum amazing? I can't believe the amount of collective knowledge and expertise displayed here! I'm also a noob, and for what it's worth, I recently auditioned some tube amps at the 2007 International Meet. I was astounded by the sound of several tube amps I heard -- in particular I was floored by Ray Samuels Raptor. I felt that the tube sound was warmer and more natural -- it drew me into the music in a way I have not experienced with solid state.

So after the meet, I am now seriously considering a tube amp -- definitely worth it as many tube amps are reasonably priced. Unfortunately, the RS Raptor is rather expensive -- very impressive, however, and carries a long warranty.

The main problem for me right now is the seemingly unending choices available -- hard to know where to start! I'm looking in the $500 range and one amp I'm considering is the Doge 6210 -- very good reviews at its price point, around $400. But it is indeed a confusing undertaking, especially for a noob. And as you know, except for meets, it is extremely difficult to find amps to audition, so I'm relying on the wonderful people here and the reviews.

Good luck with your quest! I doubt you will be disappointed in acquiring a tube amp.

AV8TR

 

[cotdt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif tubes amps are nice and really no more trouble than a solid state. there is definitely a different sonic signature going from one to the other, although as some have mentioned, it is not night and day. i can recommend the ld2++ as a nice entry level tube amp ($200), although there are others in this price range. just as people have different phones to suit different types of music and moods, it is nice and sometimes just convenient to have more than one amp.

Not true, some tube amps and solid state amps are indistinguisable. I can give names, but I will not, because I will be flamed =/ now a single-ended triode... that's a different story. those have the classical tube sound.