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Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119731 12/08/05 11:12 PM
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oz350z Offline OP
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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


"Life is what happens while your busy making other plans" John Lennon
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119732 12/08/05 11:41 PM
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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.

Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119733 12/08/05 11:47 PM
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axiomite
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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?


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119734 12/08/05 11:49 PM
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In reply to:

I like valves.



I like knobs.



Sutter

Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119735 12/08/05 11:54 PM
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oz350z Offline OP
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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


"Life is what happens while your busy making other plans" John Lennon
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119736 12/08/05 11:55 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
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axiomite
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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!


Rick
Our Room

smile
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119737 12/09/05 12:28 AM
Joined: Jul 2005
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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.


Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119738 12/09/05 12:43 AM
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oz350z Offline OP
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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


"Life is what happens while your busy making other plans" John Lennon
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119739 12/09/05 01:03 AM
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oz350z Offline OP
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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


"Life is what happens while your busy making other plans" John Lennon
Re: Am I becoming a bottle head?
#119740 12/09/05 02:31 AM
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axiomite
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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.


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
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