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Tube vs. Solid State-Basic Question

So here I am with my first all tube amp, the Manley Stingray II. While I wait for my Merlin TSM-XMr's to be delivered I've got the Stingray connected to a pair of Definitive Technology BP7004 towers in my theater room. I also ran them with a few other amps....testing them with a Cambridge 550A amp with 60 watts. I was able to play the speakers with the Cambridge well enough, but on tough passages at higher than medium volume the sound got congested and even distorted above that level.

So now I connect the new Stingray, switch to Triode-Mode (just 18 watts) and I get equal volume (or more) with beautiful sound, dynamics and imaging....and that's 18 watts in triode mode! The extra watts of the Cambridge did not appear to be of any use. What's up with that?

So....can some folks more educated on tubes explain to me....like I'm a two year old how the low powered Stingray plays so well with so little power?

Next up was to switch out of the triode mode and get the full 35-40 watts from the Manley which could drive the speakers very loud in my fairly large theater room. While I'm VERY happy with the Manley Stingray, I'm also a bit confused at the power the thing seems to have in spite of it's lower power. In fact my fat Denon receiver (110 watts) cannot keep up with the Stingray.

All comments welcome!

Bob
robbob
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
I found the Stingray to be exceptionally powerful for its rated output.

They are just well made amps enjoy!

Also enjoy the Merlins...
rleff
1,065 posts
 
I also think you are hearing the very loose use of power specs in a receiver rated at 110 watts in your denon vs the Manley.
Also when a tube amp does clip the result is less anoying to the ear than a solid state clip;which can destroy a speaker in a heartbeat.
Also since Bobby recommended the Manley he would be most familiar with system matching of the Merlins;which you are going to really enjoy.
I think you may see a post from Atmasphere on this question
and if Ralph does post pay attention to his response as he is one of the best designers in the audio industry and also a audiophile.
Enjoy the new world of tubes and if you have any questions just post and you will get excellant advice the people in the hobby and business!!!
Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,630 posts
 
Most good quality amps specify output as RMS watts over a particular frequency range at particular distortion rates with all channels driven simultaneously. It used to be common for mass marketed AVRs to use a less stringent specification of wattage, I think they may have called it something like music output, but I don't recall. So, watts may not be watts in specifications depending on how they're defined. The wattage available for a 1 kHz signal one channel at a time will be very different than that for 10-100,000 Hz all channels driven simultaneously. Then there is distortion, which typically rises rapidly above the level of the output specification. And then there's gain: In the days when I was concerned with tube amps, an MC 60 could deliver its 60 watts with a 0.5 volt input, whereas a Dynaco required a 1.5 volt input to deliver 60 watts. Wattage output is not the same as gain, and what amps provide is gain.

db
robbob OP
273 posts
 
Thanks for all the feedback, folks!

Rob
kingmacaw
46 posts
 
i play bass guitar & love tubed amps. my '64 gold fender bassman used 6L6GC's. love my ss gallien-krueger, it emulates tubes. my 44wrms fender worked onstage at dances w/up to 1200 people. i never miked thru house systems. my g-k has 700wrms +50wrms thru a bi-amped horn. told 5x the rms power needed from ss compared to tubes for similar volume, tho unsure of actual ratio.
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