Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Ghost said:
Thanks for the rec! Would your rec change with a budget up to $2000?
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I have a Wilsenton R8 and think it's great. I would say after tube rolling I spent in about $2250 total. The amp has power to drive my s400 mkII speakers and has a sweet tone. I've had it going on 2 years and no issues. Also, check out Black Ice Audio and Rogue for other options in the $2k range.

Full disclosure. I haven't used the R8 as much since I got the Kinki Studio EX-M1+. The Kinki amp is fast, smooth and powerful and I just don't feel the need to go to the R8 like I did with my previous solid state amp the Cambridge Audio CXA81 which is an excellent amp in its own right. So many good options out there. So hard to choose.
 
mindhead1 said:
I have a Wilsenton R8 and think it's great. I would say after tube rolling I spent in about $2250 total. The amp has power to drive my s400 mkII speakers and has a sweet tone. I've had it going on 2 years and no issues. Also, check out Black Ice Audio and Rogue for other options in the $2k range.

Full disclosure. I haven't used the R8 as much since I got the Kinki Studio EX-M1+. The Kinki amp is fast, smooth and powerful and I just don't feel the need to go to the R8 like I did with my previous solid state amp the Cambridge Audio CXA81 which is an excellent amp in its own right. So many good options out there. So hard to choose.
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I was thinking Wilsenton as well- made in the Line Magnetic factory.

Black Ice has one model under $2k and may not be enough power depending on room size and desired listening level.

I don’t think Rogue has anything under $2k anymore in a tube amp- only the Sphinx hybrid.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
This is a bit speculative but that’s kinda what we do on the internet…
The implication is that the internals are the same in th FIIO as on the We Are Rewind Walkman and the We Are Remind is supposedly garbage. I guess FIIO debut the CP13 at the CES this week in Las Vegas. Sounds disappointing.
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It’s definitely speculative. One of the main problems with these modern tape players is the erase head which you can’t see in the Fiio. This means nothing because the picture is angled poorly. I will say it does appear to be a very similar mechanism. You have to wonder about the claims of the player being delayed because sourcing turned out tougher than thought as if random company’s x, y, and z are getting these parts and sticking them in their $20 hunk of junk then what happened with FIIO.

Yes it was at CES. Most of the articles so far read like a rewrite of the same press release.

What Fi had a review but did not speak on sound quality as they were not familiar with the music or iem they used with it. No mention of what the mechanics were like. The majority of the review was “oooh, neat, the lid is more fiddly than expected and I just trashed all my tapes fuck you fiio.“
 
Lee Newman said:
It’s definitely speculative. One of the main problems with these modern tape players is the erase head which you can’t see in the Fiio. This means nothing because the picture is angled poorly. I will say it does appear to be a very similar mechanism. You have to wonder about the claims of the player being delayed because sourcing turned out tougher than thought as if random company’s x, y, and z are getting these parts and sticking them in their $20 hunk of junk then what happened with FIIO.

Yes it was at CES. Most of the articles so far read like a rewrite of the same press release.

What Fi had a review but did not speak on sound quality as they were not familiar with the music or iem they used with it. No mention of what the mechanics were like. The majority of the review was “oooh, neat, the lid is more fiddly than expected and I just trashed all my tapes fuck you fiio.“
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This thing won’t have an erase head. It’s a player. You only need an erase head with a recorder.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I was thinking Wilsenton as well- made in the Line Magnetic factory.

Black Ice has one model under $2k and may not be enough power depending on room size and desired listening level.

I don’t think Rogue has anything under $2k anymore in a tube amp- only the Sphinx hybrid.
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You maybe correct about Rogue. I haven't checked pricing lately. Just doing a quick look at prices for gear I'd considered previously everything seems to have jumped in price by $500-$1k. Black Ice Audio, Rogue Audio, Raven Audio, Prima Luna.

@Ghost in your price range I'd give the Choco EMEI and Kinki Studio EX-M1 a serious look if you want power, speed and balanced delivery. Another amp in th $2k price range I had my eye on is the Heavan 11 Billie Amp. A tube hybrid.
 
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Ghost said:
Can someone smarter than I help me understand the ramifications of replacing my NAD C 316BEE with this bad boy? I'm guessing I would lose my ability to stream music from my BluOS and listen to movies through my speakers as well via my NAD's AUX jack?

Would there be a way to have the best of the both worlds?

parttimeaudiophile.com

LSA VT-70 Integrated Amplifier | REVIEW

Hi-Fi news, gear reviews, and interviews
parttimeaudiophile.com parttimeaudiophile.com
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I avoid LSA due to one of its employees, namely Mark Schifter. Look up what happened to AV123 (his old company) and why Mark went to jail to get an idea.
 
SnowmaNick said:
I avoid LSA due to one of its employees, namely Mark Schifter. Look up what happened to AV123 (his old company) and why Mark went to jail to get an idea.
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HiFi Guy said:
I didn’t want to go there, but now that it’s out, I agree.

Mark is involved as LSA is owned by his father in law.
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Yeah that’s enough for me to look elsewhere. Will do some research on all the options presented above! Thank you all for helping out.

Why do people pursue tube amps over other options? This is the first time I’ve entertained the idea
 
Ghost said:
Yeah that’s enough for me to look elsewhere. Will do some research on all the options presented above! Thank you all for helping out.

Why do people pursue tube amps over other options? This is the first time I’ve entertained the idea
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Pleasant distortion and the romantic appeal of the old school. It’s the same mentality that drives us to vinyl in the first place.
 
kvetcha said:
Pleasant distortion and the romantic appeal of the old school. It’s the same mentality that drives us to vinyl in the first place.
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In addition to sounding good the R8 is cool to look at. Especially at night when the lights are down low and some good tunes are playing.

Tube amps are also quite the conversation piece. Lastly, if you like to tweak there is fun to be had tube rolling and if you really like to geek out modding the tube amps. Similar to turntables, carts, and phono preamps.
 
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HiFi Guy said:
It’s getting more and more difficult to buy a new tube amp for reasonable money due to inflation. Are you open to preowned? Some real deals can be had. My amp is a current model at $8200 new but I found a mint preowned example with box, manual and remote for $3150.
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I love well-cared-for used gear. I’d follow The Music Room (TMR) for what shows up there. This is one example.

tmraudio.com

Cary Audio SLI-80HS Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; Upgraded

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
 
Angsty said:
I love well-cared-for used gear. I’d follow The Music Room (TMR) for what shows up there. This is one example.

tmraudio.com

Cary Audio SLI-80HS Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; Upgraded

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
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I looked at Audigon and US Audiomart today. Slim pickings. I bought my amp from Echo Audio.
 
mindhead1 said:
I have a Wilsenton R8 and think it's great. I would say after tube rolling I spent in about $2250 total. The amp has power to drive my s400 mkII speakers and has a sweet tone. I've had it going on 2 years and no issues. Also, check out Black Ice Audio and Rogue for other options in the $2k range.

Full disclosure. I haven't used the R8 as much since I got the Kinki Studio EX-M1+. The Kinki amp is fast, smooth and powerful and I just don't feel the need to go to the R8 like I did with my previous solid state amp the Cambridge Audio CXA81 which is an excellent amp in its own right. So many good options out there. So hard to choose.
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So far this Wilsenton seems like the best fit for my needs as well aesthetic. The Kinki and Choco Studios both seem like great options but the Choco would have me sacrifice my ability to hook up a streamer + entertainment system from my understanding.

The Kinki seems pretty compelling if I want to forego the tube direction. For some reason the NAD C 3050 doesn't feel like it'll be the upgrade from the C 316BEE that I'm looking for. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Anyways thanks for the recommendations.

Yes @HiFi Guy I'm definitely open to preowned options as well, but I don't know what to look for! Will check out the one you attached!
 
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