I’ve been looking into building my first real audiophile system and was considering a tube or hybrid amp, such as the Prima Luna Evo, Vincent audio SV-237Mk2, or Billie Amp Mk2. I haven’t decided anything for sure but one thing that came up with one of the reviewers for the Billie Amp is that if your speaker sensitivity is too high, like 96 dB+, you can hear I guess a tube noise or hiss. Is this true of any tube or hybrid amp, regardless of price-point? Will you hear it even with a good solid state amp? I was just curious as I don’t know much about noise floor or how to keep it as long as possible. Thanks!
it’s not the tube amp, it’s the high efficiency speaker. With these speakers noise will be higher just like everything else. There’s nothing inherently noisier about a tube amplifier.
I see. I mostly ask because I was thinking about pairing whatever amp I go with with the Heresy IVs, which have crazy high efficiency. It’s odd they often say the Heresy pair best with a tube amp, despite that. I guess it just is what it is.