Tubes Do It -- Transistors Don't.

I own both solid state and tube pre-amps and amps (Placette and First Sound, Pass and CJ). As with many things in life, I can’t decide which I prefer, so I switch off—a month or two with one, then the other. When I make a switch, I’m usually glad I did and wonder what took me so long.

On balance, however, I tend to prefer solid state. For all of the strengths of tubes—the body, the bloom, the emotional connection, and the other qualities, which many of you have articulated so well--most of the time when I’m listening to tubes I am craving greater clarity. Tube amps, particularly at lower listening volumes, tend to sound too “soft” to me, as if I am listening with a pillow over my head.

I am obsessed with the sound of cymbals. If I put on a jazz z recording, regardless of how great the piano or sax or kick drum may sound, if the cymbals don’t have what I believe is correct bite and aliveness, then I can’t be happy. Solid state seems to deliver these qualities more consistently, whereas tubes (my tube amps, anyway) seem rolled. I wish I would not fixate on this so much, but there you are.

However, I’ve come to feel that listening level is a huge variable in all of this and, further, it is too widely ignored by reviewers and audiophiles alike. A story: I was in a dealer’s many years ago listening to one of the original Hales loudspeakers. I remember thinking it sounded awfully dull, like an old Advent or AR speaker. Later, someone else came in to hear the Hales, put on an opera selection and cranked it way up. I was floored! It sounded so much like the real thing! But I rarely listen that loud. I knew then that the Hales were a very good speaker and also that they were not for me.

I tend to listen at low volume, where detail and clarity serve to help the illusion of music. At higher volumes, these may become less important. Most systems are demonstrated at high volumes. At HE 2002, for example, many, many rooms were louder than I normally listen (and many were just too loud, period). (Most also sounded too bright to me, so I don’t think I generally prefer a bright sound.)

A system that sounds good to me at high volume (even lifelike volume) may not be a good choice for me because it may not deliver the goods at the lower levels I typically prefer. If I’ve got the tube amps in my system and I crank it up, the cymbals sound right and the music sounds real, more real than with solid state. But at lower volume…

I would like to see reviewers be more diligent about addressing performance at different listening levels, particularly for speakers and amplifiers.

-Dan

KarlS, you need to try listening to a Berning ZOTL. One reviewer, when he was asked about the ZOTL he reviewed, said that it was the best SS amp he had ever heard. Of course it was a tube amp, but the point he was making was, that it had the beauty of a tube amp with the speed and woofer control of a SS amp. The Bernings are remarkable amps.

To further expand on the Berning bass performance I will say that the Berning zh270 amp has bass performance comparable to the best ss amps I have personally heard. With a stable 8 ohm load this amp will deliver full power down to 2hz and listening is believing. I have never heard any tube amp deliver the clarity, pitch definition and sense of real acoustic space in the low bass like this amp. It is comparable to the best ss in these areas if not offering the ultimate slam of a large ss amp. Another example of the converging of the two technologies.

I feel that a considerable cost upgrade was required to get a SS amp that I could live with. I eventually went with Accuphase. It has the so-called 'Accuphase Golden-Glow' sound, a smoothness and fullness similar to tubes, but with the power to rattle the walls. I currently drive it with an Air Tight tube preamp and I am quite pleased with the combo.

Dburdic, I agree with you about tube systems. I hear the tube amp. Some of the tube defenders call this continuous space. I call it glueon. I like black space. On the other hand, I have yet to hear, vinyl aside, an ss system sound pleasing. Like Tubegroover, I strive for a balance twixt the two. I use a transparent Pass X 150 for power, a Pass Aleph P for gentle switching; and a well tubed Jolida 100 controls the sound. As has been noted, solid state amp technology has progressed, so much so, that you won't hear any evil second order harmonics. Pass X and XA amps are foremost examples. Then again, the Pass amp can sound horrible if used in a poor sounding system. It is a slave to whatever is fed to it. I think we all understand that.