Question Dual mono tube amps: how to get it right?

[El Puerco Volante]

I'm thinking to upgrade one of my systems to pure tube amps.

How I'd like to get it right from the beginning, so some advice from the experts would be very welcome 😁

I want to get the best possible setup, without going crazy on cost, of course.

From what I'm reading, separate tube pre-amp and power amp, in dual mono setup are the best. Now a couple of questions:

1) You will probably laugh, but how many amps do I actually need? I think it's 3 in total, but what type of ? One pre-amp and two power amps in dual mono, each powering one speaker?

2) I had a look and PrimaLuna looks decent. Anyone has experience with those? I'm thinking about 200 or 300 series.

Big thanks in advance 🙂

 

[Integralista]

Hi, what budget do you have for the whole amp system? Price range is very big.

 

[El Puerco Volante]

Hi, what budget do you have for the whole amp system? Price range is very big.

Hello. I'm thinking about 10-15k, nothing crazy. Looks like PrimaLuna fits that

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

If I was starting again, I'd probably go a WiiM ultra into two mono blocks. Whether they were tube or not is up for debate. That said, I own a PrimaLuna stereo power amplifier and love it. Had it approximately 12 years and no regrets. It did cost me a pretty penny (€1k) to fix this year, but I guess it is what it is.

Sound is so individual, I'll leave it to you to determine whether or not you'll like the tube sound. What I would mention, and possibly teaching you to suck eggs, is the practicality. It's not like a modern system where you pick up your remote / phone, select a track and boom ... there it plays. Rather ... walk to system, switch on (in a particular order), wait to warm up, play track ....! If you were pairing it with a turntable (as I once did) the incremental is neglible, but if you are replacing a modern convenience, you may notice it.

I've commented on other threads in more detail, etc which should easily be found.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

If I was spending that much cash, I'd probably not bother with a valve amp.....I'd go straight to class A, something from Accuphase, Sugden or pass labs would do it for me.....oh and I own a primaluna dialogue premium hp integrated.

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

If I was spending that much cash, I'd probably not bother with a valve amp.....I'd go straight to class A, something from Accuphase, Sugden or pass labs would do it for me.....oh and I own a primaluna dialogue premium hp integrated.

I'd agree - as just posed on the Tube Pin-Up thread, my perfect world would be a tube set up in an office / library with a one-box solution in the general living area.

 

[Al ears]

Never gone down the dual mono tube amp route but it may get slightly complicated.
Some manufacturers make a dual mono in the same chassis.
If you go separates you may need to ensure the tubes in each amp are from matched pairs to get identical output potential from both amps.
obviously one preamp and two monoblocks is the way to go but understand this may limit your choice of suitable speakers.

 

[El Puerco Volante]

Never gone down the dual mono tube amp route but it may get slightly complicated.
Some manufacturers make a dual mono in the same chassis.
If you go separates you may need to ensure the tubes in each amp are from matched pairs to get identical output potential from both amps.
obviously one preamp and two monoblocks is the way to go but understand this may limit your choice of suitable speakers.

Very interesting. Why would it limit my choice of speakers? I was thinking to pair those dual mono tube amps with GoldenEar Triton 2+ I recently acquired.

 

[El Puerco Volante]

If I was spending that much cash, I'd probably not bother with a valve amp.....I'd go straight to class A, something from Accuphase, Sugden or pass labs would do it for me.....oh and I own a primaluna dialogue premium hp integrated.

I like the tube sound 🙂. So the goal here is to get the best possible tube sound, without spending crazy amounts. I believe the amps you mentioned, although excellent, wouldn't give me that sound.

 

[Al ears]

Very interesting. Why would it limit my choice of speakers? I was thinking to pair those dual mono tube amps with GoldenEar Triton 2+ I recently acquired.

Tube amps will always work at their best with efficient speakers that don't have big dips in impedance. I know nothing about the Triton 2 although one review seems to say they will work well with tube amplifiers

 

[Jasonovich]

A million shifting of sands ago, I had two Edison 12 A class tube amps, I had these bi-amped to Musical Fidelity MC4 speakers .
I recall there was a thumb and a buzz when these were switched on but this didn't distract from the sound. This was ancient kit and relatively cheap. Really can't compare to modern tubes.

If I was in your shoes and I was planning on spending a lot of bread on serious kit, I think it would be prudent to book a demo with your dealership.
Ask the dealer to compare the tubes to state amps of comparative costs, perhaps a class A amp from tube and the same from solid state.

Have fun