What kind of amp should I upgrade to?

The latter is better.

 

I have a Nova and an iNova.

I was going to suggest one to you as an alternative to the Outlaw.

You can see the iNova in the background of the first photo in my above post.

S&G highly recommended!

Here is a Nova which is listed on eBay right now.

Peachtree Audio Nova Hybrid Integrated Amp/DAC $595. Buy it now price. BTW, this is not one of their later models that have a class-A preamp and a class-D power amp. This is an original Nova, like the one that I have.



There is a feature on this original Nova (and on the original iNova's), that was not on a Decco65 that I bought from eBay. The Decco65 was their first attempt at a class-D power amp section. The previous models were all class A/B.

There are little blue LED's that surround the source selector button. In the older units, like the one on the eBay listing, with the digital inputs only, the lights appear to "move", like a theater marque, when you select a digital input and there is no signal at the input. Once a digital source starts playing, the lights "freeze" when you are locked on a signal. This is the neatest thing. It is so helpful when trouble shooting a digital source. You may think that something is digitally streaming into the Nova, but if you see the lights "twinkling", you know that the nova is not receiving a digital signal that it can lock on to. This is handy when an optical digital cable has loose on the back of a source, you know where the problem is and how trace it back yo the source.

Another nice thing is that the digital section is separate from the true analog inputs and the preamp is pure class-A analog.

The headphone amplifier is pure class-A.

There are five digital inputs, USB, 2-Digital Coax, 2-Digital Optical. Plus three line level analog inputs for a total of eight all together.

There are two sets of RCA outputs. One is from the preamp (which varies with the volume control) and the other is a straight line level for recording to to another device that has an input volume control.

 

IIRC, the Peachtree amps are some Class D amps ...

 

Just looking at the specs I wouldn’t try to drive your speakers with an 8 watt tube amp.

 

They began and ran their product line for many years using class A/B amps, for the power amp section.

With the introduction of the Decco65, a few years back, now the power amp sections are all class-D, more power and less money, better DAC's and improved features.

 

Attbe OPs price point I would jump on a used Nova or Decco65 in a second. I had one awhile back and it was. Very nice, enough so that I have moved from tube separates to a Nova 150. I also think that the OP should definitely be looking at a decent power level with those speakers.

Way too many folks here quickly dismiss modern ClassD amps but have little experience with them. In many cases this is unwarranted audio snobbery and if fact, if the OP had more efficient speakers I would heartily recommend the NAD D3020, but not with his speakers.

 

Get the Volt with ps and be done with it

 

Those hybrid amps sound nothing like a full tube amp.

 

Strongly ! The Class D amps of today are supposed to be way better than those available a decade ago ...

 

Key word

 

To the OP, it's your money, spend it the way that you want to.

Just be aware, many of your fellow forum members are genuinely trying to advise you against buying something that will ultimately get you no where good along your audio voyage.

I just found that Upscale Audio has ONE available Peachtree Nova125, which did retail for $1,495 for $749, used. Now you would be owning a quality piece of equipment that will serve your audio needs for some years to come. And, it would be a true system upgrade.

This particular unit has a beautiful rosewood veneer. Not some crappy "black" aluminum box, like you get in a Best Buy.

And, it comes with a two year warranty!



Rear View.

• 125 watts x 2 channels into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.5% THD

• 220 watts x 2 channels into 4 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.5% THD

• hybrid vacuum tube/solid-state design

• vacuum tube preamp stage (uses a single 6N1P triode input tube) can be switched in to add warmth and smooth the jagged waveforms of highly compressed digital sources

• high-current class D solid state power amp

• built-in headphone amp drives demanding headphones with ease

• built-in ESS 9023 Sabre 24-bit/192kHz upsampling digital-to-analog converter (DAC)

• decodes MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, AIFF, WAV, PCM, and Apple lossless

• galvanic isolation on all digital inputs blocks common sources of electrical noise

• digital audio inputs: 1 USB (Type B), 1 optical (Toslink), and 2 coaxial (S/PDIF)

• supported sample rates:
  • USB: up to 24-bit/192kHz
  • coaxial: up to 24-bit/192kHz
  • optical: up to 24-bit/96kHz

• 1 pair RCA analog audio inputs

• 1 pair RCA audio preamp outputs (for connecting a powered subwoofer, outboard power amplifier, or using the nova125 as a stand-alone DAC)

• headphone output (full-size 1/4" jack)

• 12V trigger input enables power on/off control from external sources

• heavy-duty binding-post speaker connectors

• detachable AC power cord

• 14-13/16"W x 4-7/8"H x 14-1/8"D

• weight: 21.56 lbs.

• warranty: 2 years on amp, 6 months on tube

 

And made in Canada IIRC!

 

Hey OP. I'll ship you a Volt+ with PS for you to try out on my dollar. You pay return shipping when you're done with it. It will fit in a medium flat rate box.

 

The new ones are, the old ones were contract built in China.

 

Great news!

 

Not only that but there's no way that amp will perform at the same level as a very good SS amp in the same price category. Why buy something that is on the very low-end of that product category?

Kind of like if somebody absolutely wants a 4K TV but only is prepared to pay the littlest amount of money possible. Sure, the TV will be 4K but the picture quality won't be terrific at all. Because of that, I'd rather, for the same amount, buy a 1080P TV that will have much better picture quality.

There's an Outlaw RR2160 on USAM for a mere $625! No doubt in my mind it'd run circles around the lowest entry-level tube amps.

 

I am confused on whether to do solid state, hybrid, class-D or all tubes.. So I made a little bit of an impulsive purchase today with this tube headphone amp:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHIKIDM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It says $330, but there was one used for $130.. Figured I can't go wrong at that price.. This will hopefully tell me whether tubes are sound I am looking for..

 

What do you mean by pieces missing ? I would say this is the reverse of my experience. N core amps are known to take some considerable time to sound their best, but once they hit their stride they are a real revelation. Being very accurate and revealing means they will not tolerate substandard ancillaries or sugar coat bad recordings but the benefits are worth it. I have owned amps from Audionote, Audio Innovations, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research ( Reference ), Pass Labs, Musical Fidelity, Krell ( definitely the worst ), Primaluna, Yamaha ( B2 and a rare B1 ), Sony Vfet. The N core based amp I have is a paradigm shift for the better in terms of clarity, headroom, tone and most of all dynamics.

 

For $400, it's extremely unlikely you'll find a decent quality tube amp that can drive your speakers. You might be able to find a used Cayin A50T for somewhere in the neighborhood of $700. That would be a decent entry into valves and would drive your speakers to decent SPLs in a moderate sized room - which begs the question: what size is your room?

 

Little Dots have good reviews. Keep in mind it doesn't take much power to get headphones working which is why they're so cheap. That and they're made in China.

To get the same SQ you're getting through speakers (instead of headphones), you'd have to pay many times the full retail price of the LD (about $320). If you listen through headphones often, it was a good buy, absolutely!

Tubes are nice, but great transformers cost a lot of money. And that's where a good chunk of the SQ originates from. Although it's no guarantee and there are many factors at play, typically the heavier the transformer, the better your chances of ending up with great SQ. The more metal there is in them, the heavier they are. That metal costs money, hence the price. The Line Magnetic 508IA I just bought weighs 92 pounds! A 22 pound tube amp isn't going to get you the wow factor you're looking for, IMHO.

It's your money so spend it how you want but if you're asking for advice, I can tell you your choices for better SQ are either to spend more money for a tube amp (1K minimum, IMHO) or stick with SS for the time being and get yourself a nice quality unit like the Yamaha or Outlaw. Trust me, you'll be happy with the sound and it will be noticeable SQ bump from your current Onkyo.

As I said, buying into a feature is all fine and good as long as one understands what comes with it. My analogy of the 4K TV is pretty accurate. Why get an under-powered underwhelming low-end end tube amp instead of a great performing SS one for the same price? Some make the assumption that tubes = automatically better no matter what. Don't make that mistake.

 

If you want to have some kit building fun, you can put together one of these improved Dynaco ST-70 designs from Vacuum Tube Audio for under $1000, we were just talking about the phono preamps in another thread ...

 

Looks nice, should do the job in OP's case very nicely.

Yes, I have the MKII and like it a lot. This will give you a taste of OTL designs. Remember, not all tube amps are the same design: SET, OTL, Push/Pull, Ultralinear, you name it. Your unit is OTL, it is mostly used for headphone amps, only because big OTL amps produce tremendous amounts of heat, and can seriously heat a room. So, a push/pull amp, which is probably the most commonly used architecture in tube amps, will sound different from OTL.

 

Guys, we all hear differently, that's a fact. Arguing about it is pointless. It's like taste - some people like vanilla, others - chocolate, neither is superior, we just like different things.

 

I know someone on the classical music thread picked up a PL amp for around $800 but it is a discontinued model ...