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
Thank you very much for posting that Twl. I have some comments that i'd like to add to that thread, but have to run off to work. Some of my comments are both pro and con about this type of amp and other Carver / Sunfire products. Being an owner of multiple Sunfire products might help keep the negative things that i have to say in perspective for those that are otherwise "awed" by the sound of this amp even though it measures attrociously. Sean
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PS... I have to wonder just how much of this really is Carver and / or if Bob is simply marketing his name ??? You guys check into that and let me know, will ya ??? : )
Correct me if I'm wrong, but, isn't the TacT really the best example (not best amp, but, best example) of a digital amp.
Sean- here you go:

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?p=44742#44742
"What's the point of this amp if you can't use the low feedback configuration".

Elhartford my guess is that the low feedback setting may be problematic with the load of the Maggies, don't know for sure. The point of the amp is its flexibility into low impedance loads and the reason for the 3 settings. Most tube amps measure lousy compared to SS anyway and you seem to be hung up on the distortion measurements of the amp without the benefits it offers over conventional OTL's and transformer coupled amps which is its ability to operate into lower impedance loads as well as better bass definition, Into an 8 ohm load it measures almost to DC which is impressive in itself for a tube amp. I Hope to hear it someday driving the Maggies, I too am quite curious.

Allan Bhagan, a dealer for the Berning has a prototype pair running directly into the stators (no transformer on the speakers) of a pair of SoundLab M-3's which are more inefficient than the M-1's, maybe he can chime in?

I agree Sean, the Pass Labs amps are very nice. It seems Nelson Pass has a knack for designing amps that offer many of the better characteristics of tubes.
I have never heard what Eldartford claims--that because of the high voltages run in tube amps, the capacitors and other components have a shorter life span. Anyone care to comment on this?