Newb looking for valve based pre & power amp setup

[DNE]

Am a newb and have never owned a pre and power amp setup, current setup is integrated CA AZUR 550 and CA DACMagic with NHT VT1 Speakers, fed music using Apple Airport; want to replace the integrated amp and retain the rest of the setup.

Have heard a good valve based setup through my speakers, my friend sold me the speakers he had them setup on a bespoke hifi that sounded lovely.

I want to upgrade as I do like the sound of the valve setup, I also have a Fatman iTube connected to bookshelf mission speakers and it sounds good but doesnt quite drive my NHT's well enough (in my opinion).

Any advice for a newb would be appreciated, on the budget side I don't actually know where to start, what would an "entry level" amp & power amp cost?

Dean

[John]

I might have a killer power amp for sale soon SAC Glowmaster PM me this is awesome amp and do not wish to sell it...but life
Also worth considering Hamish power amp

[DNE]

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[Techno Commander]

I may have a rather good pre amp available shortly.

[DNE]

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[zanash]

take a look at some of the consonace gear ....very well built and sound excellent [even though chinese]..

I run the cyber 800 mono power amps ...best upgrade I ever made !

[DNE]

Thanks for the info

[DNE]

As I said am a bit of a newb here, looking at the cost of going with a decent pre and power amp I have decided to go with an integrated valve amp.

Have had advice that the Icon Stereo 25 would be good entry level at £500-£600 new.

Does anyone know what advantage I would get from having the KT88 valves instead of the standard EL34's ?

Thanks for all the offers and advice to date!!

[Haselsh1]

EL34's have a truly glorious midrange with stunning vocals whereas KT88's have more power and drive. One of my favourite valve amps uses EL34's in a single ended design with just twelve Watts per channel on tap. Absolutely incredible.

[John]

Its worth looking for second hand World Audio Designs Amps they come up on ebay every now and again

[Ali Tait]

Yes agreed, a WAD amp would be a great choice for a first valve amp.

[DNE]

After much deliberation I am now waiting for delivery of an Icon Stereo 25, I had this recommended by a good friend.

Thanks to all for your offers of equipment and advice.

[nat8808]

Are you sure it's a valve pre-power you want not just a pre-power? I ask as good pre-powers are normally better designed for audiophile use than intergrateds (unless expensive like Accuphase) and so bring a lot of improvement themselves.

Valve gear is also a bit trendy at the moment and so isn't always as good value (in my opinion!).. pretty hard to find a valve pre-power for a decent price and so you're then back to integrateds which are often made to fill that niche of someone who wants valves but pre-power is a step too far.

I don't know much about Chinese gear that CAN be great value so I've heard - where's Marco with his Yaqin opinions? . And.. spend a good amount of money on the RIGHT valve gear you'll probably be set for a long time! That would probably mean say £700+ on a valve power amp alone.

Anyway, that all said, my first valve amp was a Kora Design 30 integrated amp (sometimes called a DA30).

A little hard to find but last one I saw was about £600 or so (originally €2500 odd) - a little review here: http://www.videohifi.com/Kora_design_30_eng.htm

Beautifully sweet and open and full of air - none of this warm, soft (read "dull" in my book) incorrect image of valve amps. Seemed to have enough current to drive even 82 dB Celestion SL600s and get good bass out of them despite only being 30W/channel.

Great thing was it had seperate pre and power sections so you could try other things out. Only a line amp though.

Still, that doesn't particularly help choose one but you never know, one may come along.

[DNE]

have had the Stereo 25 for a few weeks now and have to say i am happy with it, Adele's 21 sounds stunning, i am feeding it wih an apple airport express so am sure i can get better results with a different source. The neighbours dont seem to have warmed to it yet, but i am sure they will in time:)

again, thanks to all