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
Dogs are nice but getting one is a lifestyle decision. Tubes need to be viewed the same way. When I was much younger, no effort or compromise was too great in pursuit of the absolute sound. I've since receded in my dedication to that pursuit. Today many things are just too much trouble. Tubes are on that list.
Once you progress in this hobby to the point where you can be happy with what you have, then you are no longer plagued by concerns for what you may be missing. Salud!!
A little off the subject, but the spec/measurement/listening debate
has a new battle front with the new digital amps coming
to the market.

Interesting discussion of the CarverPro ZR amps over on audiocircle.com, with J.Curl measuring these amps.

Personally, I love tubes, but I can no longer deal with
their high energy cost and heat by products. Some people enjoy the involvement of tube rolling, tweaking caps,power supplies and cables.

Every audiophile should own a tube amp at some point. Some will fall deeply in love and rediscover the joy of listening to music.
Kana813, that is an interesting discussion going on over there at audiocircle.
Macrojack,

Dogs.

thats an interesting way of putting it.
My reccommendation however, is if you have a Dog do not get a tube amp.

I have a dog, a nice german shepard mix named Jagermeister, one day she started looking ill, i took her to the vet and they thought something might be obstructing her digestive track.
Got some X-Rays done and sure enough, she swallowed a lightbulb.

Yep.
She ate a lightbulb. The X-ray showed it to be intact, and they had to remove it from her belly.

Not a HUGE lightbulb mind you, just a little 40-Watter, same size as what you find in lavalamps.

So.... from MY experience, If you have a dog, dont keep things that look like lightbulbs laying around the house, which includes Tubes.

Ohyeah, and dogs CAN unscrew things. They had no trouble unscrewing the cap on my waterbed. No puncture marks, no teeth marks, but they DID unscrew the cap.
lost about 10-15 gallons. Up all night long with a Rug-Docter sucking the water outta the carpet.
Got a mattress the next day.

I love dogs.

Oh and yes, i kept the lightbulb, it still worked. :)