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Is your tube amp really a tube amp?

I use and love the older ARC D70Mk2 tube amp. To many people, this design is a true tube amp...however, ARC uses a LOT of transistors in the circuit. In the "day" a transistor was considered a ss device. Anyone know of a tube amp that uses NO transistors in the circuit...only tubes. I suspect that in my amp, the audio signal passes only through the tubes and not through the "ss" devices ( don't know this for sure)...Therefore, what is a TRUE tube amp...how many of us are actually using such a device ( no transistors or other ss devices whatsoever in the amp), vs. a hybrid...what's the definition of that term in regards to tube gear?
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czarivey
5,946 posts
 
ZD, I've never seen tube DAC chip at all. I only know semiconductor DAC chips or circuits. Is DAC(logic component) in VK D5se implemented with vacuum tubes like in first computer?? I thought that it would take at least a size of 24' box truck enclosure to implement it with vacuum tubes.
j_stereo
130 posts
 
In my limited experience I have listened to and owned some amps that were all tube (tube rectifier, voltage regulator, etc.) and some that were tube but had solid state retifiers and voltage regulators. To me, the ones with solid state components sounded solid state. They did not have the "soft" and "smooth" sound the all-tube amps did. Again this is only opinion and it is difficult to quantify, but that was just my perception.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Yogiboy,
I thought that Quickies all use SS power supply.
Some of them use SS diode couplers instead of capacitors.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"03-24-15: Czarivey
there are many true tube amps, but are there ANY true tube CD-players with buncha toobz? i only saw ones with single tube per channel and the rest of circuit is semiconducters"

I just answered your question about 1 tube per channel.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,672 posts
 
Czarivey,I was under the presumption that quickies were all tube.
I stand corrected! He does state that his gear is all tube. Thanks for the info!
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