Looking to get something tube, but where to start?

Thanks Chris,

The Little Tube looks nice, but how does it sound as a pre-amp? I never use headphones so I'm not too interested in that feature, and I couldn't find any reveiews about it's preamp sound.

You could be the first to buy one from AK's newest sponser Elekit:

http://www.vkmusic.ca/TU-875.htm

i started with (and, well, it's all i have tube-wise, so far...) a fisher 400. they're inexpensive but sound great. i got mine from a guy that restores them. about 35wpc which is plenty to power my dynacos. in my opinion, it's a combination that hard to beat. i've listened to music more often and for longer periods since i bought my fisher than any of the ss gear i have or had. my mac4100 just sits unused most of the time as i prefer the sound of the fisher. even my main rig, a ma-6900 doesn't get as much use as the fisher. i think the mcintosh sound is more accurate, but the fisher is just more pleasant to me, and ultimately for me, that's what matters. i'm looking at dynaco st-70's now... i don't do any work on them, so i buy one's that have been restored.

I had a H/K tube tuner and sold it. I bought a PAS-2 with the intention of restoring it and eventually traded it away. I've harvested a number of unexceptional consoles for their amps or just their tubes. I haven't yet really had "the tube experience."

That's going to change. Yesterday, I pulled a very nice amp out of a Grundig console that I don't think I'll be able to let go of. Wish me luck!

I'm Curious

I've heard from others that the 'tube sounds' are 'warmer'. I need to go to a dealer and experience 'the tube experience' and compare to non-tube sounds.

Chris Brown said:

I’ve had very good experiences with a small Chinese company called Little-Tube. They initially began manufacturing tube headphone amplifiers and are thus better known on other forums such as Head-Fi.org, but all of their units are functional preamps.

Here is their current lineup:
http://www.little-tube.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=193&posts=2&start=1

I use one of their older units, a Little Dot II+ with my Yamaha M-2 Solid State Amp and the combo works wonderfully. It’s hard to beat the prices as well.

Click to expand...

I concur with Chris Brown on the Little Dot. I have the MK III and it is a wonderful headphone amp and surprisingly a very competent preamp.All for $200.00 and the customer service is top notch.It's a very well made piece with great parts inside it plus it sounds damn good.Go to Headfi and read all the wonderful comments in the headphone amp thread if interested.When I decide to use it as a preamp it matches well with my nad c-270 amp.

When Sword Yang(I think thats what his online name is)designed the MKIII he did not skimp on the preamp portion of the circuit.You can use it full time as a preamp no problem and be very happy but remember theres one other perk..it is also designed for headphone use anytime you feel the need to jam with your grados or sennheisers and does an outstanding job in that department also.You just cant beat it for the price.I paid a grand total of $274 bucks and this included an extra set of 4 tubes and shipping.

Several recommendation for tube pre's and tube amps but not so many in the way of integrated tube amps. I've been eyeing old int. amps from Fisher, like the X-100 and KX-100 and was wondering if anyone knows what the difference is between the KX and the X model? I've also seen an X-101-C model as well as a X-202-B. Again, not sure what the difference is or what the B and C designations indicate, but they all seem to say "The Fisher" on the front. :scratch2:

Anyway, I have an old Pioneer TX-5A Multiplex AM-FM tube tuner. I currently have it running through a Pioneer SA-8100 SS int amp. I would like to go all tube and was wondering if y'all would recommend any of "The Fisher" int amps? Is there any one particular model of those old Fishers that stand out? Any model to stay away from?

Trying to track down all the different Fisher model integrated amps is a bit of a task.

Here are a couple of links that will give you some background on Fisher units.

http://fisherdoctor.com/fisher.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fisher

As for the specific Fisher integrated amps, I expect that there is some thread here that has a list of the different models, so try doing a search. However, this is a quick run-down from what I can gather - there could be lots of errors in this, so please take as a draft. I expect there will be others that are missing from this list and no doubt other more knowledgeable AKers will fill in the gaps & correct any errors:

X-100 A: Tubes 7189(4) & 12AX7(5)
X-100 B: Tubes 7868(4) & 12AX7(6)
X-100 C: Tubes 7868(4) & 12AX7(6)

X-100-2: Tubes 7189(4) & 12AX7(5)
X-100-3: Tubes 7189(4) & 12AX7(5)

X-101: Tubes 7189(4), 12AX7(6), GZ34
X-101 A: Tubes 7189(4), 12AX7(6)
X-101 B: Tubes 7591(4), 12AX7(6), GZ34
X-101 C: Tubes 7591(4), 12AX7(6)
X-101 D: Tubes 7591(4), 12AX7(6)
X-101-ST: Tubes 7189(4), 12AX7(6), GZ34

X-202: Tubes 7189(4), 7247(2), 12AX7(6), 12AT7(3), GZ34
X-202-B: Tubes 7591(4), 7247(2), 12AX7(6)
X-202C: Tubes 7591(4), 7247(2)

KX-90: Tubes 7189(4) & 12AX7(5)
KX-100: Tubes 7868(4) & 12AX7(6)
KX-100 B: Tubes 7591(4), 12AX7(6)
KX-200: Tubes 7591(4), 12AX7(6), + Bias Meter

X-1000: 6CA7(4), 12AX7(5), 7247(2), EF86(2), 12AU7
K-1000: 8417(4), ELL80(2), ECC83(2), ECC808??
SA-1000: 8417(4), ELL80(2), ECC83(2), ECC808

I think the KX models are kit versions of some of the X models. :scratch2: While many of the above models seem to have a similar tube complement, I believe that there are other differences such as faceplates, connections, etc. Out of these, I only have the KX-200, so cannot really comment on which might be the better sounding, or built.

Some of these are harder to come by than others. Often the ones with the GZ34 rectifiers seem to go higher in value, especially if the GZ34 is Mullard or similar high value old stock, or if the 12AX7s are Teles, Mullards, etc. Also, the 7247s are relatively scarce. 7189 tubes are long out of production but some use EL84/6BQ5 tubes, others prefer EL84M or the Russian military 6P14P-EV. As for the others, there are old stock and new production versions of the 7868 and 7591 tubes, as well as many choices for 12AX7. For the last three on the list - they are scarce. Actually the 8417 ones are power amps, not integrated, so shouldn't be on the list, and the tubes in those are harder to get & pricey.

In your search, you might want to take a look at other integrated amps such as from Sherwood, H. H. Scott, Harman Kardon, Pilot, Stromberg Carlson, EICO, Bogen, Knight, Pioneer, Sansui etc. There are some good models and sleepers among them.:thmbsp:

I hope this helps. Good luck & have fun in the search!