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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?
daveyf
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,689 posts
 
My car may perform excellently and me loving it under normal circumstances, but if I ask it to tow a 3 ton load it may not work out so well.

Same thing with audio. You gotta have enough muscle to get the job done or nothing else matters much. That means the right amp/speaker pairing for teh job. the technology chosen in teh design including tubes or transistors does not matter so much as does a good design and a quality product to work with in any case. The rest is mostly personal preferences that you cannot bank on.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,099 posts
 
A hybrid amp will have semiconductors in the signal path.

Some examples: The MOScode, Berning ZOTL, some of the old Counterpoint stuff, some of the CJ stuff.

So this is an easy thing to spot. To flip the coin over, anyone making the claim that the H/K Citation 2 power amp is a hybrid because it has a semiconductor power supply would get laughed out of town.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Yup never mix milk with coffee or visa versa. Keep the race clean:-)
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Did someone just cut one?
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