The Gearhead

Audio Research LS16 Preamplifier; No-name Tube Buffer; Eddy Current Balancing Act Preamplifier By this point I have a good grasp on what tubes can add to the sound of a system, and conversely what solid state has to offer. But every now and then I still get struck by the crystalline clarity on the top end when tubes are involved. Something about that sound makes cymbals and stringed instrument plectrum noise just so sweet and attractive. Here at The Music Room, we see everything that’s made for high end audio. And on both ends of the price spectrum, folks are focused on tubes. This little generic, unbranded Chinese tube buffer has a little magic in it, take it from me. For a $69 piece of kit with no name and no information, that seems a little hard to believe. But it’s the tubes, man. Even at $69 and with no info you can’t screw up the magic that tubes bring to the table too badly. Now, describing the bass on this thing, I would call tubby and soft. But that’s why you p...

Audio Research Ref 3 Stereo Tube Preamplifier I don’t know how you got into this hobby, but my introduction occurred early in life, through the influence of my grandfather, Dr. James McVay. He didn’t necessarily push me to be interested in his passion for high end audio — he already knew I was interested in my dad’s trade, which is music. He just fueled my excitement on the way music sounded through speakers and a system. He would tell me all kinds of stories about his DIY amplifier and speaker builds, how he turned a corner of his basement into a dance hall and another section of it into a legitimate German rathskeller, how he personally knew Paul Klipsch and how Paul was helping him with the crossover and tweeter horn array for his DIY project. How he was in a constant search for the right place to hide his speakers so he could get a semblance of a soundstage while keeping my decor-conscious grandmother happy. He didn’t talk much about the dizzying array of brands in the ...