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i have often wondered if you can take a value priced integrated like Cayin or Prima Luna and make it as good as some of the very expensive tube gear with NOS tubes. I have a Cayin A-50t that sounds better than most any amp I have heard of similar power. It is running with RCA black plate 5751s and black plate 12AU7s with Gold Lion Kt-77s.
It seems to me like an affordable alternative to Conrad Johnson priced tube gear is a more affordable amp with NOS input tubes with top quality new production tubes.
I am planning on a cap upgrade to the amp as well. With the quality of Cayin and Prima Luna, it seems like a few tubes and caps might get you close to the very expensive gear.
Your thoughts?
Aren't transistors alien technology?
Follow Ups:
Better built amps have better circuit designs which comes first and then the other big one, better transformers all around. You can't change turnips to caviar by adding more salt. NOS tubes also may not meet the design values for the new amp designed for the new Russian and Chinese tubes which appear to have different specs sometimes.
I think it's more respectful of the dwindling hours left in great vintage tubes to put them into well-engineered American/Canadian/European/Japanese tube amps, rather than Chinese.
"I am planning on a cap upgrade to the amp as well. With the quality of Cayin and Prima Luna, it seems like a few tubes and caps might get you close to the very expensive gear."
I've done just that with a Triode Corp. single ended EL34,6550, KT88 amp. I suspect you get similar results with the Cayin. FWIW, boutique caps may not offer the *best* results.
And a big part of that luck, with tube amps, is what was used as output transformers.
Some very reasonably priced amps might have ended up with great output transformers and some rather expensive amps might not. This might have been more the case in the past than in the present.
"And a big part of that luck, with tube amps, is what was used as output transformers."
True, however changing caps to suit your personal taste is not a bad thing and the manufacturer has no idea what YOU would prefer. :-)
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