SS vs Tube

[jcalcidise]

I have been experimenting with SS amps and pre-amp with different speaker combination's for some time now. I recently heard a tube pre-amp and tube amp set up and was astounded at the difference. It was so much more alive and real sounding. Much more warm and graceful than I have known so know I'm trying to figure out the best tube pre-amp/amp/speaker combo for the money. I have been hearing great reviews on Audio Research equipment and McIntosh, and what I recently heard was McIntosh but extremely high end, and so I'm looking for experienced advice from tubeaholics. I'm also not sure what would be a good fit speaker wise at reasonable prices.

[GranteedEV]

Before you drop 60000 on a 2 w SET...maybe start with something like this

http://www.emptek.com/amps.php

It's a tube Pre-amp that also has an integrated SS amp or you can use the pre-outs with another tube or higher end SS amp + has a sub out.

Tubes ain't my thing though. I'd like to own one or two for novelty's sake but I can't justify something that intentionally changes the sound to make it more pleasing.. it's like "Happy Face" EQ settings. I'd rather have a high level SS amp giving me the signal as it was recorded.

[jamie2112]

Tube sound is a different sound because the tubes actually add harmonic distortion which some people love and some hate.It warms up the sound if you will,making it appear more "cushiony" or warmer. Most "audiophiles" don't want to introduce and distortion be it tube or not to their systems.I myself like the sound of tubes on certain music. You have a huge amount of choices in tube pre amps and amps so I would just listen to as many as you can before making a buy......

[mtrycrafts]

I have been experimenting with SS amps and pre-amp with different speaker combination's for some time now. I recently heard a tube pre-amp and tube amp set up and was astounded at the difference. It was so much more alive and real sounding. Much more warm and graceful than I have known so know I'm trying to figure out the best tube pre-amp/amp/speaker combo for the money. I have been hearing great reviews on Audio Research equipment and McIntosh, and what I recently heard was McIntosh but extremely high end, and so I'm looking for experienced advice from tubeaholics. I'm also not sure what would be a good fit speaker wise at reasonable prices.

You may want to research why you perceived a difference, what that difference may be, etc before you get trapped into the tube gear.

[3db]

You may want to research why you perceived a difference, what that difference may be, etc before you get trapped into the tube gear.

Tubes = Hotel California??

[Rickster71]

If you like tube type units after hearing them, that's up to you.
My 2 cents from my experience with tubes; the maintenance is ridiculous and not worth the nostalgia or cool factor.
There is a reason why tubes were replaced with SS components.

[highfigh]

Tubes = Hotel California??

That was the Iggles, ya big dork!

Signed,

White Punks on Dope

[highfigh]

Tubes can sound really good. The problem is that it won't happen through all speakers, especially if the impedance curve looks like a roller coaster or if the output transformers aren't really top-notch. I still have a Conrad Johnson amp with EL-34 output tubes and will do a comparison as soon as I put it together after replacing a few caps. It's older and was due for this anyway but I would hardly call it "high maintenance". They don't need much if they're used fairly regularly and unless something actually fails, the caps can be left alone. However, a periodic re-biasing isn't a bad idea.

I listened to a customer's Audio Research amp last week and the response definitely isn't flat. The McIntosh amp was much brighter with the same speakers.

At this point, I would have to say that SS is the way to go if actual fidelity in reproduction is the goal. Tubes do have their good points, though. I still wouldn't use many of the current solid state guitar amps-for that, I would use tubes.

[Rickster71]

For me, maintenance included, first, having to pay hundreds for a tube tester.
Tubes don't go bad quickly like a light bulb. They gradually go out of range; so you do need a tester.
So I'd pull each tube and test them, one at a time until I found the one or two offenders.
We had an attic with hundreds of vacuum tubes; so I'd search through many until I found the right one.
Six months later I'd repeat the process again.

Contrast that with my first solid state receiver STA-78 from Radio Shack / Realistic; 32 years old, it still plays in my office today, with zero maintenance.

[markw]

Tubes are great for producing music but transistors are great for reproducing music.