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Tired of Problems with Tube Equipment

I switched over to tube audio equipment in some form some years back, and have certainly enjoyed music played back through them. I have had amps, preamps, and DACS at different times utilizing tubes. One unfortunate thing that's been common to all the tube equipment I've had are problems. It doesn't seem to matter whether the manufacturer is large or small, built in the USA or overseas, they all have had problems. Capacitors blowing out, bad solder joints, tubes only lasting a short time, loud pops that mysteriously go away on their own, etc. Although I have enjoyed the sound (and that beautiful glow!), I am starting to get tired of this and thinking of going back to solid state.

Have any of you also gone back (or thought about it) to solid state for this reason? What has your experience been with the reliability of tube equipment?
smeyers
oregon
827 posts
 
May not be what you want to hear, but the Chinese elctronics- Primaluna is stable, self biasing, affordable plug and play. they also sound very good.
I had no problems with these.
It's hard to go from tubes to SS.
Good luck
birdies
85 posts
 
I find it unfortunate that so many folks seem to have to badmouth whatever format they DON'T use to validate their own choice. It's like the equally unfortunate tendency to use phraseology like "amplifier X kills amplifier Y".

My own solution, I know, would not be practical for most. I'm a two-system fellow, the big upstairs rig solid state, the basement system vintage tube-based. I wouldn't trade either experience. As I tell my pals, my favorite system is the one I listened to last.
brauser
526 posts
 
There was a time not so long ago when optimal performance was the domain of tube equipment. That is simply NOT SO today. I was a tube guy for over 20 years and yes it sounded awesome. Now I'm a solid state guy using the latest technology which runs cool, doesn't take up much space and can stay on all the time, so I don't have to wait for the system to 'ramp-up' before sounding it's best. I would even go so far as saying that in some vital areas of bass control and dynamics, the best SS trumps the best of Tubes. I think a neat trick would be for some leading manufacturer of SS gear to cosmetically put some tubes on top of the enclosure just for 'looks'. I'll bet there would be some 'humble pie' served to some who would proclaim a 'new age' had come for Tube Equipment.
jrb25
44 posts
 
I have been using Quicksilver amps for about 5 years. Zero problems. My complaint with tube gear is that sound quality subtly declines as tubes age, and I'm often wondering if tubes are wearing out somewhere in the system. Time for a tube tester I guess. Not to mention the ongoing search for reasonably priced NOS so that I have the tubes I like 20 years from now.
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
Wow; great responses! This may be somewhat off-topic from my original post (I AM allowed to hijack my own thread, eh?), but I'm wondering how close I can get with a good solid-state amp vs my class A SET tube amp I have now. I know there's been quite a few threads about this, but in my setup I use a Tact 2.2XP (room correction, EQ) which feeds a Lector 224 tube DAC, which then feeds the amps. So it's not a straight tube vs SS amp question, as I use the 2.2XP to EQ the signal (which can approximate some tube amps added midrange bump), and use tubes in the DAC.
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