2. amps-preamps
  3. 1031724377

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
bear
141 posts
 
There is no doubt that tubes come in various flavors and colors, some of which are quite nice. Some are really awful, I'll leave it to you to discern. Imho, for little money you can get a really *nice* sounding amplifier using tubes, one that gives the impression of "musicality" and "smoothness." So, that is all good.

To get a similar result from solid state, imho (again), you need to go an "extra mile" or so to get certain things right, or else you end up with a sound that personally I do not like at all. Unfortunately, a *great number* of manufacturers seem to either have or like that sound...

What I think is needed can be seen on my site in either the SE Mosfet amp design, or better still in the full out Symphony No.1 design.

Having said that, I admit that I *prefer* the sound of a very high quality, high power triode amp on my ESLs over the arguably more accurate and cleaner Mosfet monster(s). However on other systems, there is no horse race at all. And for bass, tubes are definitely on the short end of the stick.

So, the answer is: use the right devices for the right applications. (often that means bi-tri-quad amp'd set ups)

:- )
beemer
444 posts
 
Each to their own taste! I use 33H on the mid/tweeter panels of Infinity IRS Beta. These panels voiceds with ARC tube products when the speaker was designed. With a good source, I find the 33H and Bat VK50SE preamp combo right on the money, though I have het to try any of the higher-end tube amps on my system, a friend has a similar setup with a Mac 2000 and it sounds good as well.
acuujim
207 posts
 
Lamm 1.1 mono blocks do it all
Beautiful tube bloom and air
Rock solid solid state low end authority
Fleshy mid bass texture
Imaging, soundstaging, you pick the positive characteristic
rec
328 posts
 
My first tube amp was a kit I built in the early 60's, I have had a tube amp in and out of my system since. Currently I have two amplifiers, Cary 805B monoblocks(tube) and a Jeff Rowland Model 10(ss). As wondeful as the Cary sounds, I keep the Rowland amp in most of the time. I find the Rowland the best overall amplifier I have heard in my system. In my experience the best ss amps are as musicial as the best tubes,of course they don't sound the same and they both have strengths and weakness but they are more alike then different.
phild
603 posts
 
Hey Kevziek...

I hate to break it to you, but on most recordings the instruments ARE panned into place with a mixer. Sorry. :-)

SS amps might be more accurate in that way (allowing you to "hear" the seperation between tracks). I do agree with you though...I think tube designs (done right) sound more musical and real, though I have heard some that sound so friggin' bizarre...it amazes me that people think the sounds they produce sound anything like real instruments. Still...everything is relevant. Some recordings are made using tube mics and tube preamps and others are made with SS mics and preamps, and both can sound amazing if done right.
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