Tube Amps

I guess one would have to have one of these tube amps in their own system before one could judge.----There is one thing I can tell you ; they (tubes)do sound pretty different than most solid state amps--A generalization only--- Whether or not you like that difference is another thing. I say listen to a triode amp, not necessarly a single ended one but a push-pull triode. Then you can tell us.--- Some tube amps have a simiar to SS sound; and some SS amps have a similar to tubes sound.---Don't know of many SS amps that have a similar to triode sound; there may be some but the price won't be in the 1--1.5k range.

The previous post by AVguy makes a good point: moderately priced tube amps can, and usually do, sound quite different than comparably priced solid state amps (due mainly to the much higher cost for transformers in the tube amps). The performance difference between tube and solid state amps have been narrowing over the past 10 years, but that's mainly true for the higher-priced models.

If you want to experiment with a tube amp, you might look for a used Quicksilver amp, which is user-friendly and offers good performance for the money. You might also consider some of the very good tube amps now being made in Asia (mainly China and Taiwan), which offer good value due to their lower manufacturing costs.

What type of music do you generally listen to? That also will play a big part in whether or not the tubes will be appropriate for your tastes, and help pinpoint which tube amps you might want to consider.

Let us know what kind of music you generally listen to, and I'm sure that you will get plenty of excellent recommendations that would fit the bill.
All the best,

Howard

Boa2
thanks for the follow up
i love vintage jazz...coltrane, chestnut,sandoval,billy taylor and of course krall and recently cincotti
i do like classical music...but not much orchestral or opera. Mainly piano and vilolin
and of course i do rock every so often...floyd,eagles and ray vaughn,etc
that is the spectrum of music i enjoy
like i said these amps have an enourmous appeal to me on the visual basis..favorites Mcintosh 2000(i believe) and like the looks of BAT units. Also any tubes come in class A outputs?
many thanks for your help

I would take a look at the Quicksilver mono blocks that allow you to put in different types of output tubes...KT88,EL34,6L6 and others, providing you have enough power. This way you can 'listen' to various types as well as brands of tubes. Not the easiet to set up but then again definitely not the hardest. Also Quicksilver's sound pretty good too! Oh yes, Quicks also hold the resale value.