Interested in hearing from the veterans a list of the best tube gear you've ever owned.
Also, vintage vs. contemporary -- generally speaking, which ones are better (if at all) and why?
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Interested in hearing from the veterans a list of the best tube gear you've ever owned.
Also, vintage vs. contemporary -- generally speaking, which ones are better (if at all) and why?
Not a tube veteran, but I have my share:
Rogue 88 tube amp; great effin amp. Very three dimensional soundstage with airy highs, beautiful mids, and bass is pretty good for a tube amp. Compared to some nice entry level Acoustic Research tube amps at the dealer. I preferred the Rogue.
Jolida JD100 cd player; I think enough has been said recently about this tube output player.
Melos SHA1 and Cary SLP-88 tube preamps. Take your pick; they both sound great. 6DJ8 vs. 6SN7 tubes here.
Musical Fidelity X10v3 tube buffer stage; great way to add some tubiness into an all solid state system (as is the case in my HT rig when used for two channel).
I don't know about best, but I can list some faves:
vintage:
EICO HF-81 (or HF-12 or HF-14) all different versions of a very nice EL84pp amp
Fisher 400 and 500 receivers (7868pp and 7591App, respectively)
New stuff:
Bottlehead Paramour 2A3 SE monoblocks (great sound per dollar)
Tuner:
Sherwood S-2000/S-3000 series (great sound at a bargain price)
Dynakit ST-35 with original Mullards.