Turntable with Built in Tube Pre-Amp
November 12, 2019 5:01 PM Subscribe
Has anyone seen these or have experience with turntables with built in tube preamps?
Saw a selection of turntables with built in tube preamps at a record store while on vacation, can't seem to find any options online now that I'm back in the states.
Saw a selection of turntables with built in tube preamps at a record store while on vacation, can't seem to find any options online now that I'm back in the states.
Thinking of this? It's got and amp as well as a pre-amp.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:28 PM on November 12, 2019
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:28 PM on November 12, 2019
Response by poster: Musica y Vinyl in Mexico City.
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:28 PM on November 12, 2019
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:28 PM on November 12, 2019
If they're cheap, they're almost certainly using "starved tubes" which means that they're running the plate voltage much lower than what they were designed to be used with. This means they don't sound like they're supposed to (and in general sound worse than they're supposed to). This lets them skip out on expensive parts like a good power transformer.
Generally companies that make products like that also cheap out on other things as well, because they're counting on consumers to be awed by the fact that there's a tube (or four) in the product, without having the knowledge to know what a properly operating tube sounds like.
Cheap tube gear occasionally sounds interesting but rarely sounds good. I would take a similarly priced solid state design over a cheap tube design for something that you use all the time like a record preamp (as compared to the starved tube audio compressor I own, which would be a bad choice if I only owned one type of compressor but fits well in my collection of over a dozen different audio flavors to chose from, depending on the audio source and what sound I'm going for).
Even if it's quality, I wouldn't see a lot of value in buying a turntable with a built-in preamp of any substantial value. Having them integrated doesn't really add much value but makes it harder to do upgrades or repairs.
posted by Candleman at 6:30 PM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
Generally companies that make products like that also cheap out on other things as well, because they're counting on consumers to be awed by the fact that there's a tube (or four) in the product, without having the knowledge to know what a properly operating tube sounds like.
Cheap tube gear occasionally sounds interesting but rarely sounds good. I would take a similarly priced solid state design over a cheap tube design for something that you use all the time like a record preamp (as compared to the starved tube audio compressor I own, which would be a bad choice if I only owned one type of compressor but fits well in my collection of over a dozen different audio flavors to chose from, depending on the audio source and what sound I'm going for).
Even if it's quality, I wouldn't see a lot of value in buying a turntable with a built-in preamp of any substantial value. Having them integrated doesn't really add much value but makes it harder to do upgrades or repairs.
posted by Candleman at 6:30 PM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: Yeah, very much like that, but a different style, more Hi-Fi/retro looking.
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:30 PM on November 12, 2019
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:30 PM on November 12, 2019
Best answer: I'm going to echo Candleman's comments here--to do tubes right you need high voltage and big transformers. The tubes probably look cool sticking out of the turntable, but they're doing little more than window dressing.
Vinyl and vacuum tube audio are hobbies of mine--if you're interested in what it would take to build a tubes and vinyl setup, I'd be glad to help.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:54 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Vinyl and vacuum tube audio are hobbies of mine--if you're interested in what it would take to build a tubes and vinyl setup, I'd be glad to help.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:54 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
"Thinking of this? It's got and amp as well as a pre-amp."
Rumored to cost about $6,500. I am going to guess that all the high-voltage, transformer, tube stuff has been sorted.
posted by bz at 9:25 PM on November 12, 2019
Rumored to cost about $6,500. I am going to guess that all the high-voltage, transformer, tube stuff has been sorted.
posted by bz at 9:25 PM on November 12, 2019
Based on the link OP provided, they're not carrying $6k record players.
posted by Candleman at 9:32 PM on November 12, 2019
posted by Candleman at 9:32 PM on November 12, 2019
Best answer: Tubes appeal to two markets: people who wants the best possible preamp, and people who want something that just looks cool
All-in-one solutions are for the convenience market: "Get me something that works and isn't a hassle."
The intersection of the "give me the best possible preamp" market and the convenience market is nil. If you want the best possible preamp, you want the best possible turntable, too. And you'll want to be able to upgrade them independently of one another.
So while I guess it's possible that an integrated tube preamp sounds nice, the safest bet is that it's designed for the "give me something that looks cool market".
posted by billjings at 7:25 AM on November 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
All-in-one solutions are for the convenience market: "Get me something that works and isn't a hassle."
The intersection of the "give me the best possible preamp" market and the convenience market is nil. If you want the best possible preamp, you want the best possible turntable, too. And you'll want to be able to upgrade them independently of one another.
So while I guess it's possible that an integrated tube preamp sounds nice, the safest bet is that it's designed for the "give me something that looks cool market".
posted by billjings at 7:25 AM on November 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks. Glad to know I am not missing out on a cool 2 in 1 system, just a design quirk.
posted by kittensofthenight at 3:39 PM on November 13, 2019
posted by kittensofthenight at 3:39 PM on November 13, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wemayfreeze at 5:33 PM on November 12, 2019