2. amps-preamps
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Tubes Do It -- Transistors Don't.

I never thought transistor amps could hold a candle to tube amps. They just never seem to get the "wholeness of the sound of an instrument" quite right. SS doesn't allow an instrument (brass, especially) to "bloom" out in the air, forming a real body of an instrument. Rather, it sounds like a facsimile; a somewhat truncated, stripped version of the real thing. Kind of like taking 3D down to 2-1/2D.

I also hear differences in the actual space the instruments are playing in. With tubes, the space appears continuous, with each instrument occupying a believable part in that space. With SS, the space seems segmented, darker, and less continuous, with instruments somewhat disconnected from each other, almost as if they were panned in with a mixer. I won't claim this to be an accurate description, but I find it hard to describe these phenomena.

There is also the issue of interest -- SS doesn't excite me or maintain my interest. It sounds boring. Something is missing.

Yet, a tube friend of mine recently heard a Pass X-350 amp and thought it sounded great, and better in many ways than his Mac MC-2000 on his Nautilus 800 Signatures. I was shocked to hear this from him. I wasn't present for this comparison, and the Pass is now back at the dealer.

Tubes vs. SS is an endless debate, as has been seen in these forums. I haven't had any of the top solid state choices in my system, so I can't say how they fare compared to tubes. The best SS amp I had was a McCormack DNA-1 Rev. A, but it still didn't sound like my tube amps, VT-100 Mk II & Cary V-12.

Have any of you have tried SS amps that provided these qualities I describe in tubes? Or, did you also find that you couldn't get these qualities from a SS amp?
kevziek
detlof
1,899 posts
 
I am a vinyl and tube man, that stated, I find that SS has improved tremendously over the last two decades, so that basically the old dichotomy no longer holds true. I suggest you listen to a well set up Spectral system through very revealing speakers and you will be very surprised. Or take a listen at the value for money excellent Marsh amps, the Gryphons from Denmark, or for much more money, the offerings of Edge and Halcro, of FM Accoustics.

As far as the bottom end of the musical spectrum is concerned, I am not for tubes, for the simple reason that you can get the same results for far less money through SS. Tubes can handle this as well, since about ten years or so, but those amps cost a packet!

Actually the endless debate about what is better is rather outdated and has become purely ideological. Generally amps of both denominations have edged a bit closer to the real thing and besides, one should not really judge them by themselves, I find, but by the chain they are in and what exactly they are being used for, like high end, low end, midrange etc. Cheers,
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I feel that there are system synergies that also must be taken into consideration. I have heard a few great ss systems but I have never owned a great ss amp. The price for admission is probably too high for me but as Zaikesman notes with the ML 33H, they are out there.

It seems generally, in a given price range, tubes are easier to live with long term and less fatiguing. I recently heard a Pass X-350 amp in an unfamiliar system and it was terrible, not the amp but the system. Surely something was wrong. I have heard the Pass Aleph's, the 30 watters sound wonderful. Bottom line there is no clear cut winner and there are enough music lovers that listen through SS that are happy to not discount them.

Where ss in general comes up short is in the "release of the note", the inner harmonic realness and decay that one hears with live instruments. The wholeosity (thanks Gizmo for that term) of the sound. This lends itself a "presence", for lack of a better adjective, that in general escapes SS devices and systems, even expensive ones in my experience. On the other hand another discovery over years of listening is that I have less tolerance for slow ponderous tube gear that euphonizes the sound or adds a richness or syrupy quality that isn't real either. The balancing act is to get the best of both worlds without sacrificing the qualities that each offer.
clueless
763 posts
 
Tubegroover, you forgot thermionic coolosity in your analysis. I find that to be a very critical factor too. As for the either/or thing I agree with Detlof that the "debate" is irate. Some folks like myself have at least one thermionic unit laying around that uses SS to point the ac in the right direction so it can't be all bad.

Sincerely,
I remain
dburdick
61 posts
 
I always like these threads. Anyway, I'll chime in from the SS camp. As Detlof said, I think both types of amps are getting closer, and there are some great amps out there, from both religions. Though I'm still a SS guy (everyone claims I'll change eventually) I do like all the good qualities of a good tube amp, just as the tube lovers do. I've haven't heard a SS amp yet that even gets close when it comes to vocals.

My problem with tube amps is that whenever I listen to one, I can hear the amp, instead of just hearing the music. A finger hitting a string, a stick hitting a symbol, or a hand hitting the skin of a drum, all sound more real to me when reproduced by a SS device. Though SS amps may not have the harmonic richness and spaciousness of tubes, to me they seem to color the sound less.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I actually like pairing a tube preamp with a solid state amplifier. I find this combination gives me the best of both worlds; without the shortcommings of either format individually. This is especially true in more mid-priced systems.

There are also some hybrid tube/solid state amplifiers out there that solve many of the same issues. Blue Circle just came out with two new hybrid amps. You may also want to consider the Sim Moon W5 and Blue Circle BC26 fully solid state amps.

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