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People who are Irrationally Afraid of tube amps

Recently I've had a tube amp For Sale on this site. It's a well respected, great amp from a major mfg. I've owned it for 3 years, with absolutely no problems, only enjoyment. I'm only selling it because I sold the speakers I used it with, & my current speakers are a lot more power-hungry. And it's the 2nd tube amp I've owned, my first being a really early model VTL ST-85 that was several years old when I bought it, then I had it for 5 years, & the only problem I had in all that time was replacing a fuse once. And I know almost nothing about electronics, but I learned how to use a multi-meter & successfully biased & replaced tubes in both amps.

Here's the thing: Almost every person who has written to me about my amp for sale asks a zillion questions, you know the routine, e-mails back & forth, then finally says they are too freaked out at the possibility of replacing tubes someday to buy it, whining about the (relatively modest) expense, etc. (And my amp has new tubes!!). Now, these queries are from presumably experienced A'goners because most of them have a large no. of positive feedback ratings here. I mean, we're not dealing with the average shopper at Circuit City, presumably.

My questions are: 1. Why do experienced A'goners waste so much time shopping for tube gear if they're freaked out over the potential traumatic effect that replacing tubes may have on them someday? There's plenty of SS gear FS if that's what they want. 2. Why do many even relatively experienced audiophiles still believe in the "tube hassles" myth? 3. Are there no tube afficiandos who are willing to put up with a minor inconvience every few years?

I feel like putting a warning in the next ad I run for a tube amp: WARNING: THIS DEVICE CONTAINS HIGHLY VOLATILE "TUBES", WHICH MAY BLOW AT ANY SECOND & COULD DESTROY YOUR ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD! USE AT YOUR OWN PERIL, PREFERABLY IN A NON-POPULATED AREA. EVEN IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU, THE TRAUMA OF REPLACING THE "TUBES" SOMEDAY COULD REQUIRE YEARS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, & MAY BANKRUPT YOU & YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY.

Well, at least that might discourage the "tire kickers". Now, if I could just afford those Cary 805C mono-blocs I've been wanting for years........& thanks for listening to my rant!
steveaudio
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Tubegroover...If you define an "audiophile" as someone who uses tube equipment, you can say that 100 percent of audiophiles use tube equipment. I have experienced the "cutting edge" of tube design, but the wounds are almost completely healed.

Seriously, I think that we all agree that the best tube equipment, when maintained in tip-top condition is arguably the best. However, the financial investment both for purchase and for maintenance cannot be justified by most people, especially when there is so much good SS equipment available. To use an analogy: a Ferrari is a wonderful performance car, but most people couldn't put up with the constant expensive tweeking needed to keep it running, and they find that a Honda is more satisfactory overall.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,976 posts
 
Solid state wears out too,I would rather own old tube gear than old solid state at least you can repair the old tube gear + it holds its value better.Output transistors need replacement after about 10-15 years or so[ask any vintage krell owner ] they degrade over time but unlike a tube amp you cant just plug in new ones.New tubes means a near fresh amp.I have gone back and forth between high quality tube and solid state gear always come back to tubes .Happy listening
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Elhartford No, I wouldn't necessarily describe tube users exclusively in the audiophile camp. There are many music lovers with tube based systems that wouldn't and couldn't be categorized as audiophiles by any measure. I would have included myself in that group 10 years ago. My response was to your statement at its face value.

You make some valid comments concerning tubes in general so far as you go. It is somehow assumed by many that SS is forever reliable which is just not the case. In fact SS gear can present the owner with very costly repair costs when components fail. I would only acknowledge that tube gear in most instances requires a greater degree of maintenance to retain its maximum performance than does SS but as JohnK notes, well designed tube gear does retain its value better and is more desirable on the used market than vintage SS.

If you want to talk about reliability, great design and performance check out the Berning zh270 as a current example. Output tubes that are auto biased and cost 5.00 each to replace and will probably last 20 years. Question, which is really cheaper long term when you look at all the factors of depreciation and maintenance? In my book the only reason for purchasing a ss amp over a tube amp would be performance, definitely not maintenance. It is a negligible consideration all things considered.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Tubegroover...Perhaps I am just lucky, but the only failures I have ever experienced with transistorized equipment involved a power supply diode (easily fixed, and could also have occured with many tube amps) and a bad wiring connector internal to a Tandberg preamp (unrelated to the amplification devices).

I got into the HiFi hobby (which was what audio was called) about 40 years ago, so I obviously used (and built and repaired) lots of tube gear. I enjoyed it, and some sounded darned good, like Dynaco amps and preamps, but reliability was never a strong suit.

I will check out the Berning zh270 amp, as you suggest. Perhaps tube amps have improved in the last 20 years.
mattybumpkin
590 posts
 
I have just started with tubes, I have two in my preamp stage of my integrated. Very satisfying sound. However, I do not think I would want anymore tubes than two. It does get expensive rolling. I have already spent $100+ on 3 pairs of tubes and I still want more! Also, my thoughts are you need to pay premium prices from respectable dealers if you want to recoup some of your money back if you wish to sell.
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