Best Tube Gear List

[Early B.]

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?

[pjdami]

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).

[mhardy6647]

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)

[Zero]

Dynakit ST-35 with original Mullards.