Tubes Tube Roll and Solid State

[Steve M]

Firstly, it's been a while since I have been here, so I have no doubt missed heaps.

But re: Tubes

A few days back I had the opportunity to evaluate two different tube power amps and a tube pre-amp at home.

Whilst I have heard Tube amps before, this however has not been in my home environment.

The 3 pieces of tube gear were all hand made by local enthusiasts.

Power amp 1 was based on the "Williamson" design with a few mods and utilised Chinese KT-88's on the output. I believe the end result produces 60+60 watts rms.


Power amp 2, a single ended low output.

The Tube Pre-amp was the last piece we tried, here the owner tube rolled, replacing Mullard with GE IF I remember correctly.

My ears did detect a change in the sound characteristic and mainly in the mid-range and to a lesser extent the top end. But I thought I could also hear a change in distortion. So I would have to say tubes can sound different. The owner assured me prior to the tube roll exercise that all tubes measured "in-spec".

Now tube v's solid state.

I found there was a certain degree of warmth, (without being muddy) smoothness and detail with the tube sound v's solid state.

Did I like the sound? ....... yes.

Would I say it sounded more life-like, real or natural? the jury is still out.


But I would be keen to hear from others as to how they would describe the pro's of the sound of Tubes over Solid State.

Personally I think a lot has to do with how the amp (any) interfaces with your loudspeakers and perhaps the input impedance of the Tube power amp and the output impedance of the pre-amp, especially if you are running a Solid State.

Thanks

[Angel]

No tube amp or transistor amp sounds alike to me. Each have good points and bad points. System matching is vital before spending money.

[indy mike]

Oh baby, those glowing botles make a difference! The midrange comes alive with tubes - my inexpensive Dynaco PAS 3-X uses Telefunken 12AX7's, and our host Steve sez those Tele's are the magic machines for midrange... Gotta choose yer speakers carefully like our angelic friend mentioned above, but when you find the right combo - WOW!!!

[sgb]

The pros and cons of tubes... hmmm

Tube equipment clips more gracefully than transistors.

A tube enthusiast can alter the sound by tube rolling (as you've already noted).

Tube equipment generally delivers more current on fewer watts (very important if you enjoy listening to complex music like classical orchestrals).

Tube equipment tends to offer a cleaner, brighter, more ambient and more palpable sound.

But,

Tubes need to be replaced in order to maintain the equipment's optimum performance.

Quality tubes are getting harder to find, and more expensive as a result.

Tube equipment generally costs more because the makers understand that the consumer is willing to pay more for something he perceives as being superior (it's like the business with Mercedes and BMW: although other cars may be just as good, people will pay more for the German cars).

I have owned both tube and transistor equipment, but determined several decades ago that I preferred the sound of tubes. YMMV