Why I will never buy a tube amp again
Jun 26, 2010 at 1:12 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 51
mortonP

mortonP

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I took my Laconic LunchboxPro into a local music store that sells tubes because I wanted a new set of tubes for my amp. He had no compatible tubes at all and the real kicker is that I  can barely tell a dif from my Denon surround amp. My opinion is that the tube amp was not a good buy because it just does not sound any better, in fact I believe it sounds worse due to background noise on the high gain setting, and a decent SS amp would have been a lot less hassle. Never again.
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 1:17 PM Post #2 of 51


Quote:
mortonp said:
I took my Laconic LunchboxPro into a local music store that sells tubes because I wanted a new set of tubes for my amp. He had no compatible tubes at all and the real kicker is that I  can barely tell a dif from my Denon surround amp. My opinion is that the tube amp was not a good buy because it just does not sound any better, in fact I believe it sounds worse due to background noise on the high gain setting, and a decent SS amp would have been a lot less hassle. Never again.
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I would recommend that you attend a headphone meet or a CanJam and get exposure to a wide variety of amps before you spend money on a amp you may or may not be happy with.
 
Tubedepot has got a good selection of tubes.  Have you looked for different tubes online? 
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 1:27 PM Post #3 of 51
Well, that's just it, I don't want to have to go through a hassle just to get some new tubes. I will try to find some tubes because I am not ready to completely give up on the amp yet and I did read it sounds more tubey with different tubes than the stock tubes. I am in Canada so my options for tubes are very limited. There is a Canadian dealer online for tubes but can't remember their name now and can't remember which tubes I need to order either. 
 
After this though I will just get a decent SS amp or just use my Denon because I find the Denon sounds quite good with headphones even though people say surround amps usually don't. I have an Onkyo that sounds good with headphones too so I fail to see what the big deal is about one trick pony headphone amps. I own an Audiolab 8000A which is rated one of the best stereo amps to use with headphones ever made3 and both the Denon and Onkyo sound just as good to me with headphones. As you said, I need to get me down to one of those CanJams so I can hear what the real deal is.
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 1:43 PM Post #4 of 51
Well with a ss amp you either will get one type of sound out of your amp or something with opamps in it.. tube amps can give you the chance of trying different sounding tubes.. you can find the sound you like most in this way.
why dont you have a look on ebay.. Im sure you can find heaps of tubes that can be used in your amp..
 
 
Edit: there is alot of tubes on ebay.. have a look for 2C51
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:32 PM Post #5 of 51
OK, thanks. I will consider eBay but that is just one more hassle. I don't have eBay account so need to set up one and that also means giving PayPal access to my money. Neither are options I really want to do. I would rather just go to a Canadian online dealer of tubes and order from them. You say 2C51 but I thought the Lunchbox requires 2 different tube types?
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:38 PM Post #6 of 51
yeah I dont know what the other one is.. and I dont know any canadian tube dealers too.. But I reckon in the end it will be worth the hassle.
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:41 PM Post #8 of 51
Sorry to hear of your Tube Amp problems! Don't give up........A good designed tube amp will sound "unreal" and you shouldn't have to replace tubes often at all (unless you're into "rolling"). I've had some of my tubes in my amps for at least 7 yrs.    But My Amps are all hand built by CHRIS IVAN  (of Ivan Audio) Google him.....I'm lucky to have him in my neck of the woods andHe's also a A-1 audiophile with the so called GOLDEN Ears.......He's old school and does not produce very many amps per year...  Now back to your problem, as soon as your dealer, didn't know what to replace your tubes with, IT was time to leave...As some mentioned above there are many places that sell N.O.S. tubes $$$$$ or great used tubes, BUT YOU have to know what your amp uses or can use....read the many fine post about the tube amps your fellow head-fi guys are using.....READ, READ And read some more and then you can make one more TUBE amp purchase and be HAPPY for a LONG TIME......JMO
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 2:57 PM Post #10 of 51
Thanks, I will try to source the tubes soon. I want to change the tubes not because I need to but because I read the Russian stock tubes do not sound very "tubey" and it will sound better if I change them out.
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 3:04 PM Post #11 of 51
as far as I know some tend to have emphasis on highs. start with the single tube. it seems to be easier to find.
 
Welcome to the Tube Rolling world!
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and enjoy the amp!
 
Jun 26, 2010 at 3:12 PM Post #12 of 51
I've had the amp for quite some time and it is good but not all that impressive to be honest. If I lost it today it would be no big deal because I have 3 SS amps that sound good with my headphone collection too.
 
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