Greetings. I'm interested in assembling a system that I will use only for listening to music (mostly jazz). I would like to have either an integrated tube amp or separate tube pre-amp and tube amp, and a turntable. I have a budget of approximately $3,000 - $4,000, and I already have speakers picked out (which will not come out of my $3,000 budget). So, I have $3,000 - $4,000 to spend on amplification and a turntable.

I would appreciate any recommendations you may have for makes and models that might be suitable for my situation.

I finally purchased my NAD components and Monitor Audio speakers. Now the salesman says I really need a Line Conditioner due to rf interference in my house and lines. Are line conditioners effective at cleaning up the power to my amp? Will there be a noticeable sound quality gain?

Thanks,
Derek

It happened, really, because I was comparing the Exposure 2010S combo to the Musical Fidelity A3.5 combo. I found myself struggling with some audio-related things. In a blog entry titled, The Pursuit of Hi-Fi Happyness, I wondered:

FYI: Jason Ressler at Music Direct was right. After a few hundred hours of break in for the DVD-A and SACD circuits, the top end glare is gone and the mids are sweet and clean. The Marantz is capable of retrieving and transmitting lots of detail. I am listening to my CD and multi-channel collection with renewed enthusiasm.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Announcing the end of the music CD.

Olive unveils new OPUS No5 - the only networked audio system that delivers digital convenience and HD audio quality better than vinyl.

My question may be based on a misunderstanding of basic electricity so please correct me if I have the fundamentals wrong.

My understanding is that watts is a measurement of electrical power, the actual work that can be performed. We can obtain more electrical power by increasing either the current or the voltage.

Fuses are rated in amps. Most fuses for household items are 250V. We are told that we can use 250V fuses of the same amperage rating for our nominal 120V circuits.

Thus, if I need a 5 amp fuse for an amplifier I get a 250V 5 amp fuse.