Tube Amp VS Solid State amp difference audible??

[Mikado463]

That's where we hit a little confusion. Generally speaking when I play music I listen to it. Even if not critically, I'm still putting hours on my amps aren't I?

of course, but then how many systems in a given day are playing music for you ?

As for my tube gear on my main system , it's used when I want to 'listen' to music.

 

[Pogre]

of course, but then how many systems in a given day are playing music for you ?

As for my tube gear on my main system , it's used when I want to 'listen' to music.

I have 1 main system I listen to. All solid state and digital. My receiver and amp run almost all day on some days.

 

[Hetfield]

Alright truce guys. No big deal.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[NINaudio]

Yes, tubes will not last forever, but 6-10,000 hrs for signal tubes and half of that or better for power tubes is a lot of musical enjoyment.

I listen to music about 4-6 hours every day. How long would tubes last me and how much do they cost?

At 6 hours a day using the figures provided above you would get roughly 3-5 years out of the signal tubes and 1.5-2.5 years for the power tubes. (I know little about tubes, I'm just using the figures provided here to answer your question).

 

[lovinthehd]

Yep, too much amp maintenance for my tastes. When I'm not out mountain biking or listening to "background noise" (that's vinyl background noise, right?) Altho a tube amp helping heat the room in the winter wouldn't be a bad thing necessarily....

 

[Bucknekked]

You know some would say that you have no life posting on a forum...

Ouch ! I think that one landed.........

 

[slipperybidness]

Hi Guys,

Ive learned so much by reading many of the comments and post by all the experienced members in this forums and greatly appreciate all the input provided by the excellent members in this community. Having that said many people prefer tube amplifiers over Solid state amplifiers but i dont understand why. Ive heard both and they both sound pretty similar to me maybe a bit more richer on the tube amp but unfortunately i have not been able to hear a comparison of a tube and solid state on the same pair of speakers and i would like to hear the opinion of some of the other members in this community if you have heard both amps on the same pair of speakers and what was the result.

I would also like some opinions on sources for amps I have a Maranz SR6011 that allows music streaming i dont have any CD's or records anymore and although its not the best source i love the convenience of streaming music. Is DTS play fi a much better source for decoding MP3's over streaming?

I have a tube amp, a Dynaco ST70 clone, and I have several SS amps (Parasound Amp, Pio AVR, a couple chip amps, etc).

So, yes, I have listened to Tubes vs SS--ON THE SAME SPEAKERS. And what I will say about the quality of the audio is, "it depends on the speakers"!

Now, let's get this out of the way right off the bat--SS amps are SUPERIOR to Tube Amps IN EVERY POSSIBLE METRIC! This is a fact, it is not open for debate, and anyone that disagrees is merely stating an opinion or a subjective account, they are not being objective and sticking to facts and measurements!

Now that we get that out of the way......

I had completely intended to run my ST70 on a set of (Alexis Rebecca) Philharmonitors. But, in use, I found that these just did not pair up well. Either the Tube ST70 was running out of steam, it's output impedance wasn't a good match for the Phils impedance, or the Phils were too revealing on the inferior-performing tube amp. So, my Phils are now driven exclusively from my Parasound 1206, and they sound amazing!

On the other hand, my Def Tech SM350 sound VERY GOOD on that ST70! In particular, on Jazz recordings, the combo of the ST70 and the DT SM350 are a really sweet, fat, warm sound that plays very nice with jazz. Furthermore, a visitor to this forum ended up buying the larger SM450 at my recommendation, for HIS ST70, and he reported back that he absolutely loved the pairing, so at least 1 other person has validated my own subjective findings on that combo.

Tubes are fun, but they can also be a pain. But, at the end of the day, the job of an AMP is to take a small signal input, and output an exact copy only at a larger amplitude. The data and measurements are clear-cut, SS amps are superior in every possible way.

 

[Bucknekked]

Now, let's get this out of the way right off the bat--SS amps are SUPERIOR to Tube Amps IN EVERY POSSIBLE METRIC! This is a fact, it is not open for debate, and anyone that disagrees is merely stating an opinion or a subjective account, they are not being objective and sticking to facts and measurements!

Tubes are fun, but they can also be a pain. But, at the end of the day, the job of an AMP is to take a small signal input, and output an exact copy only at a larger amplitude. The data and measurements are clear-cut, SS amps are superior in every possible way.

slipperybidness
Finally, a post on this topic I can get behind and support.
I hardly ever agree with an absolute (always, never, etc) in our hobby, but this is probably as close as we will get to an absolute holding water. I am sure there will be a tuber that will respond with vim and vigor to protect the reputation of the glowing glass set. Doesn't matter in the end. For those who love the red hot heaters and the glow in the dark affects, tubes will always have a home. For the rest of us, let's argue over whether or not mono blocks sound better than AVRs and other such nonsense.

 

[Swerd]

slipperybidness
Finally, a post on this topic I can get behind and support.

I certainly agree. Thanks to slipperybiddness for that post.

For those who love the red hot heaters and the glow in the dark affects, tubes will always have a home. For the rest of us, let's argue over whether or not mono blocks sound better than AVRs and other such nonsense.

I'm more cynical about this. Vacuum tube production in the USA and western countries had nearly vanished by the 1990s. The collapse of the former Soviet Union suddenly opened up aging factories in the USSR and Iron Curtain countries to provide vacuum tubes to what markets survived in the west. It prolonged the existence of both the factories and those audiophiles with tube fetishes.

Of all the technologies that once made widespread use of vacuum tubes, TV, radio, audio, computers, etc., it seems that only audio continues to use it, but only in a small way.

 

[Bucknekked]

. The collapse of the former Soviet Union suddenly opened up aging factories in the USSR and Iron Curtain countries to provide vacuum tubes to what markets survived in the west. It prolonged the existence of both the factories and those audiophiles with tube fetishes.

Swerd:
Long story, but a short nugget of interest: I did a "old time radio" project where I added a pair of KT 88's to an existing radio just for the looks and the old time cool look. The KT 88's did their job: they make this old retro fake radio project look more realistic and cool. I spent a month looking for just the right tube. Literally everything was of Russian origin. If you want or need a replacement tube today, its coming from an old broken down Russian factory like you said. I learned that with my little project.

 

[Mikado463]

I certainly agree. Thanks to slipperybiddness for that post.

x2

Of all the technologies that once made widespread use of vacuum tubes, TV, radio, audio, computers, etc., it seems that only audio continues to use it, but only in a small way.

ahhhh, you forgot what's in your kitchen, the mighty magnetron vacuum tube in the microwave. But, alas I believe that's on the way out as well..........

 

[Bucknekked]

x2



ahhhh, you forgot what's in your kitchen, the mighty magnetron vacuum tube in the microwave. But, alas I believe that's on the way out as well..........

magnetrons are a blast from the past. When I got trained in the Air Force electronics school in the 1970's I was trained on radar sets : ie the home of the mighty magnetron. I just don't think of them as "tubes" because they look pretty different and are never in plain sight. I believe you are correct however its an example of the tube culture that survives today.

 

[LuisEcho]

I think that this is especially true when it comes to the hybrid designs. That is, only the input stage is tube. Therefore, the bulbs will last much longer as the output stage is SS. Kind of the best of both worlds if you will. Not to mention, hybrids are also much more affordable when compared to tubes.


Cheers,

Phil

Any recomendatios for hybrid

 

[speakerman39]

Any recomendatios for hybrid

https://www.amazon.com/Jolida-Audio-JD301BRC-Integrated-Amplifier/dp/B00EORLMS4


Although I have heard many Jolida tube amps, I have never heard the hybrids. But, I do believe this is a good start. Monoprice has one as well. Here is a link:

https://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cs_id=1091903&cp_id=10919&p_id=16153&seq=1&format=2

The MP hybrid is on sale for $180! Usually it is $200. Of course, the Jolida is going to be a better amp. But, it is also more expensive. There are others so just do a Google search. The Jolida tubes I have heard were nothing short of sounding stellar! Hopes this helps. Best wishes!


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Mikado463]

Any recomendatios for hybrid

being the 'Rogue' guy that I am .............

http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_Medusa.htm

 

[Mikado463]

also, as for all tubes today coming from broken down factories in Russia, not true, the Chinese produce as much or more so I led to believe.

 

[slipperybidness]

also, as for all tubes today coming from broken down factories in Russia, not true, the Chinese produce as much or more so I led to believe.

China does indeed produce quite a few.

And, for that matter, saying "broken down Russian factories" gives a bad connotation. The reality is that the best tubes come out of Russia, as Russia never stopped producing tubes. NOS Russian Military tubes are fairly highly sought.

 

[cpp]

Russian tube factories still producing tubes here is a few and a company in China, of course there could be a lot more

Tube Factories
JJ/Tesla
The Tesla factory in Czechoslovakia was one of the oldest factories in the world producing vacuum tubes since the mid 1920s. In 1994, after relocating Tesla factory equipment and many of its experienced engineers to the Slovak Republic, JJ Electronic began development and production of vacuum tubes. Since that time, JJ has successfully introduced many tube types into production and today produces more tube types than any other factory. All these products have been safety certified for use around the world and are well known throughout. We carefully match these tubes ourselves; they can be purchased as pairs, quads and in some types as sextets.

Winged C
JSC Svetlana is a Russian company that owns and operates the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, which has been making vacuum tubes for almost 100 years. This factory's tubes are sold under the brand names Winged C and SED in the U.S. This factory produces the highest quality vacuum tubes made today. See www.wingedc.com for more information. We carefully match these tubes ourselves; they can be purchased as pairs, quads and in some types as sextets.

Xpo-pul / Saratov, Russia
The Xpo-pul factory (formerly part of Reflector) in Saratov, Russia is an entirely different Russian company that makes vacuum tubes for an American corporation that controls the Sovtek, and Electro-Harmonix names. In addition to the Svetlana brand tubes sold in the United States, current production Tung-Sol and Mullard brands are also made in this factory. (For more information, see www.wingedc.com.) We carefully match these tubes ourselves; they can be purchased as pairs, quads and in some types as sextets.

Shuguang, China
The Shuguang factory in China is officially known as Shuguang Electron Group Co., Ltd, a well known large-scale enterprise of the electron industry in China, founded in 1958. Valve Art and Golden Dragon brands are produced in the Shuguang factory as well as generic Chinese/Sino tubes. In the past Chinese tubes were thought to be of low quality, but today the quality of Chinese tubes is greatly improved and they are frequently found in large manufacturers' amplifiers. We carefully match these tubes ourselves; they can be purchased as pairs, quads and in some types as sextets.

 

[Ossidian]

Like vinyl, tubes provide a warm feeling that many gravitate towards. They look cool too, but are also a product that requires maintenance.

Since you mention only digital music, you would see no advantage to tubes. The reliability of solid state and higher bit rates of modern encoding are sonically superior to vinyl and tubes. But there is no shortage of followers who swear by their setup and for good reason, it is a wonderful experience to hear records played on a tube stereo.

But with your choice of listening, it would be a costly endeavor that would not yield any appreciable benefits.

DTS Play fi is just one of several new wireless streaming options for whole house audio. The bitrate of the mp3 is what is most important, despite several different types of software claiming to pull '1's and 0's' out of thin air to improve low res mp3 files just create new problems, or do nothing at all.

Your entire statement is based on your opinion and not backed up by any facts. Frankly I find your remarks telling others what they will or will not hear not only arrogant but ignorant-priceless.

 

[Spdmn256]

Your entire statement is based on your opinion and not backed up by any facts. Frankly I find your remarks telling others what they will or will not hear not only arrogant but ignorant-priceless.

Wow, that’s quite a reaction to a post that’s a year and a half old. I think most of what he said was commonly accepted knowledge. Since it was brought up though I am curious if anyone can provide additional information about the last part of the quote, pertaining to the lost data from the compression process? If it’s really stripped out of the data, how would a processor know what to add back?

I assume this is in reference to something like what I see in my Marantz AVR.