Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Am I becoming a bottle head?

Two weeks ago I ordered the M3ti's to put in my recently set up home office. I ordered from the outlet so they are not scheduled to arrive till sometime between christmas and new years. In the meantime I have been trying to figure out what I would use to drive these. Well today I won a bid on ebay for a vintage Stromberg / Carlson tube amp. It is model ASR-433 and it puts out 12 Watts per channel.

I know this thing looks pretty rough but they put out a very nice sound. I know because I was listening to one in the studio as I was making the bids. It is the identicle model that my buddy Thom (who is now a member here)owns. I have been listening to it at work for the past 3 days. Is this my first step on the path to becoming a bottle head?
oz

Well, some folks like valves and some like to swap electrons with holes.

Like the speakers we buy, it's a personal thing.

I like valves.

Stromberg/Carlson. Now THERE'S a name I haven't heard in years. Why does it make me think of classical music. Did they sponsor an old show with classical music, or put out a collection of classical music on vinyl?

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I like valves.

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I like knobs.



Sutter

Tell me more. This is all new to me. I know you and a few others here like tubes. I was hoping to draw you all out with this thread. Could you and any others interested in this topic tell me a little about your setup or experiences with tubes.
oz

Whenever I stopped by the A/V dealer the other day I did listen to a McIntosh (75 watt?) tube amp through a pair of McIntosh speakers and I must say, sitting there in that sweet spot Mr. BB King sounded extremely good.

Nothing wrong with a little diversity Oz, have fun!

I get scared to listen to tube amps because deep down I prefer the sound they create over solid state but know that I will never be able to afford the nice stuff that is out.

I used to have a sealed Becker subwoofer years ago that I drove with a 5W tube amp (can't remember the make). Listening to some jazz, the tubes gave the electric bass what I felt was some extra grunt that, so far, I have not yet been able to reproduce. Can't really explain it, but I miss it. I used to use a Peavey Alphabass tube amp head with my bass, trying to recreate a similar sound.

Sonic Frontiers, another tube amp (and pre amp) manufacturer. Very nice, very expensive. I don't think I could afford to feed my love for tube amps.


Perhaps I need to go the route of old and used. Sometimes a little hiss but the sound they can make when driving the tubes hard can be sweet.

Bruce
I know exactly what you mean. I have been looking for a while. The nice stuff is very expensive. But it looks like some of the entry level stuff can be had for what some of the better sloid state equipment goes for. Anyway this was cheap and the seller says it is all woking very nicely. Thom my buddy at work guarentee's if I don't like it he will take it off my hands for exactly what I paid. So it seemed like a win, win situation. I'm still looking at some other options for longer term.

As far as powering your sub with solid state equipment you might want to read the first review in this article.
http://www.stereotimes.com/amp031302.shtm


oz

Sorry Jack not sure about that. I do know that while that thing might not look like much I have been very impressed with the sound it produces at the studio through a pair of Vienna Acoustics and a pair of vintage Advents.
oz

Hey oz, I took the plunge into tubes about 6-8 months ago (I think). I bought an integrated amp and it really changed the sound coming out of my Monitor Audio GR10s. I posted about this, but I can't seem to find the thread.

The downside to tubes is biasing and life expectancy. Not really big problems in my eyes. Biasing takes a couple minutes and most tubes should last a few years. I think the M3s will match well with the unit you bought.

Sean
What kind of integrated amp did you get? Make,model and your impressions. I ran several searches and I came up with very little. I knew I had seen some threads where people mentioned their tube sets. But at that time I wasn't paying much attention to it because I was coming at it from the speaker angle. Now that I'm interested in tubes I don't get much with the search engine.
oz

Oz
Who is that on your aviar?
She makes me wish I was a cello.



I know almost nothing about tube amps, but congrats, I hope you enjoy.

Bray
You and me both! That is Jaqueline Dupre. If you don't already have it, get her recording on EMI of the Dvorak and Elgar cello concerto. You can hear the passion that she had for the instrument in that recording. Others are great also but I would start with that one first. It makes me feel just like that picture does. Yikes... TMI
oz

Her life was a very sad story. There is a very decent movie about her that cable seems to run every once in a while called Hilary and Jackie. I recommend it.
oz

Bray for more info look here.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155970490X/ref=sib_rdr_dp/002-3826190-2659203?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&no=283155&st=books&n=283155

oz

Yea.... I just read a little bit about her life on a webpage

Bray I googled 'Jaqueline DuPre' and went to a site, and upon coming back here I hit the link in your reply and it was the exact site I was just reading!

Looks as if the book would be a very good read.

Both books are a good read. The movie is good also. Genius in the Family and the movie paint Barenboim in not such a favorable light.The movie only hints at some of what might have gone on while the book is a bit more harsh. My link to the book by Wilson is a bit more balanced at least from the perspective of Barenboim who is painted a bit more favorably or at least fairly. Any way you look at it it is good drama.
However, you must check out the mucic. Especiallly some of the live stuff now available.
oz

Oz, I got the Onix SP3 tube integrated amp. With my MA GR10s, it brought a warmth and liveliness to the music. Before, my speakers sounded a tad on the clinical side. The tubes added that something special. It's hard to describe without getting into all the tube cliches.

Right now, the integrated is in semi-retirement. I'm running a tube preamp with a solid state amp. I've gone off the deep end and ordered a set of monoblocks. Still waiting for them.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I kinda gloss over info sometimes when I'm not interested, but once that switch is flipped I try to soak up as much as I can.

Tube rolling is another thing to look forward to. Although it can get quite expensive, it is fun to hear how different tubes affect the sound.

http://www.decware.com/newsite/mainmenu.htm

(Go to "Tube Gear")

This one really caught my attention. The ZEN amp SE-84. Personally I'd buy the kit and save $100. I tinker with electronics from time to time so constructing it would not be a problem.

For tubes that I replaced in my bass amp, I went here http://www.eurotubes.com/ and I found they added some nice warmth to the sound. They have some nice amps as well.

Bruce
Thanks for the links. I have some reading to do. As for myself, I think I better steer clear of the kits.
oz

Rick
Do you have a link? I can't make out the name. It looks a little like the Antique Sound Lad. Is that right?
oz

Upscale Audio Those are the ProLogue Two Integrated Amplifiers.

Never mind. Wid beat me to it.

Sean got the prize

You know, I live about 15 minutes away from Upscale Audio, but have never been in there. Go fig.

Ah yes; tubes.

The final iteration of my dining room system will be tubes
with M3s.

I'd like to go with a kit, but with my aging eyes, I'd be
afraid of soldering my nose into the circuitry.

Ah yes; Tubes.

What "else" makes tubes fun.

Sound...the amp sometimes buzzes....fun.

Often a low hum is heard thru the speakers,...comes with the
territory....fun; sounds like tubes in operation.

Smell; on a good day you can almost whiff the ozone. Lots
of other, heat induced, aromas as well.

Touch the chassis,...carefull...feel the buzz?

What a beautiful glow those exposed tubes make in a darkened
listening room.

Take a look under the chassis, those are real point to point
wires. No austere impersonal circuit boards there.

You can warm your hands(as well as your soul)from the heat
of those filaments.

Involvement; have to keep them well balanced. Fun to be a
friend to our eguipment.

Tubes just sound different; not the most accurate, but fun.

When I purchased a new cartridge for my turntable, we used a Prima Luna tube amp to check the alignment. Though I couldn't discern any audible difference, it is worth the extra money just based on it's looks alone. Beautiful piece of equipment.

Hi F107
I use an Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT with Svetlana KT88s and Mullard 12AX7s. Sweet, sweet sound, no hum, no buzz, dead quiet background noise level. I try not to touch anything as I have no ambition to be reduced by my audio gear into a smoking raisin.

Well, I suspect that pretty well wraps it.....

Guess things have changed some since 1959






...except for:

"Don't touch it; it'll kill ya"

Well Thanks everyone you have given me much food for thought. While I'm enjoying my 100.00 dollar POS with my new 3ti's I will be looking into
Prima Luna
Zen
Pathos
Cayin
JoLida
and
Tad-60
This should be fun!
The Stromberg Carlson sounds so nice at the studio and it is only playing through vintage Advent 2 way design speakers. I think I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Thom tells me tube replacement is cheap on this unit also. That's right up my ally.
oz

BTW Oz, I ran my ASL 5 wpc tube amp with M3s for quite a while and the combination was magic!

G'luck!

Oz,
Have you checked out the Onix SP3 Integrated Amplifier . It looks like a nice amp.

That is a killer price they are offering on that unit. That amp looks very nice in person. Such a unique look that is aesthetically pleasing.

They also are offering the unit as b-stock for $649.00. On top of that you can get a generous 20% discount during the holiday specials. Total $519 before shipping.

Holiday Special
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the SP3.


BTW Sean, did ya get any sleep last night?

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BTW Sean, did ya get any sleep last night?

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Very funny.

Rick
I did read about that amp a while ago. I'll have to add that to my list and search out some reviews. The Cayin, TAD, and Prima Luna are getting such rave reviews. I'll have to see what dealers are around here. I thinking this won't happen until sometime late next year. Unless I win the lottery or something.
oz

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Well Thanks everyone you have given me much food for thought. While I'm enjoying my 100.00 dollar POS with my new 3ti's I will be looking into
Prima Luna
Zen
Pathos
Cayin
JoLida
and
Tad-60

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If you do get a chance to listen to (or research) a few (some of these companies are great to talk to as well), I'd like to know what you find out!