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Tube or Trasistor

Hello friends
Hope you all had a good New Year!!
I live on the far south coast of Australia, the nearest hi fi shop, is a three hours drive!!, so can some one give me advice??, as I have found the sound on a lot of music to be a bit harsh, below is My gear!!
1. Once Analog TT, loaded with a loaded Denon/Zu 103 cartridge
2. JLTI phono stage, with power supply, (sold state), made in Switzerland by Allen wright
3. PS Audio, pre-amp with build in DAC
4.Pair of PS Tube Mono Blocks, these are highly regarderd, running KT 88's output tubes, made in Hong Kong, silver point to point wiring!!
5. Pair of Zu Soul MK 2 speakers
Friends, some modern recordings sound great, but as I have mint collection of music, some sound harsh!!
My last system, sounded great, in the bass region, but was lacking in the top end, just a bit!!
My last system was, below, please don't ask why I don't have it any more, very personal!!
1. Well tempered Labs Classic, with a Dyavector 17 D 3
2. A local made Tube pre amp, with phono stage, made by a person in Canberrra, I don't have his name!!, This system is approx 20 years old??
3. Bedini class A transistor amp, around 100wps
4. Shahinian Arc Speakers!!
Although i has been nearly twenty years, since the last time I heard this system, I don't remember, this system sounding "harsh"!!
The only thing I can think off, is the pre amp was" tubed", and the amp was solid state, now it is the otherway around, the phono stage, and pre amp are solid state!!, whilst the mono blocks, are tubed!!
Am I missing something here??, Before I change my system, with a cost I can't really afford, can some one give me advice?? Thanks in advance
David Spry
Australia


128x128daveyonthecoast
freediver
1,153 posts
 
^ and yet EVERY great guitarist today,from Jazz Standards to Metal continue to play through TUBES!!!
SRV in concert,TUBES...
Carlos Santanna,TUBES...
Clapton,TUBES...
Peter Frampton TUBES...
BB King-Buddy Guy and Albert King,TUBES...I could go on and on...
Bet you can't name 3 great guitarists and their Solid State stacks...
vtvmtodvm
66 posts
 
As duly noted: "The entire world market for (receiving-type) tubes is now confined to a small coterie of audio and guitar buffs..."

Guitar amplifiers are often (intentionally) over-driven into clipping overload, where their predominant even order harmonic distortion is deemed a desirable aural characteristic. Producing this even-order harmonic distortion is the intended objective, and it's easily accomplished with a vacuum tube output stage circuit.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,586 posts
 
vtv, Yes solid state has many benefits over tubes but the amp or preamp with the lowest distortion does not always sound best.  Some people prefer the sound of amps or preamps that include tubes in their circuits.  So why buy a more accurate solid state device if you enjoy listening to a tubed device more?  Knowing that your system has lower distortion and that transistors are less likely to go bad doesn't seem like adequate compensation to me.

Recordings come nowhere near replicating live music.  So even if you could put together a system that introduced very little distortion, you would still be a long way from the sound heard in the studio.  Every format and system sounds different, so it's a matter of choosing which variation on the original event you prefer.  
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,943 posts
 
vtvmtodvm


Tubes reflect their Neo-Victorian vintage ... they’re just not high precision parts ... Tube boosters reply that “my ears are more accurate than your instruments”, but their faith is mired in groupthink. There’s no credible A/B/X aural evidence to support the “tubes sound better” cult. Tubes were marching to the casket 40 years ago. Don’t consort with zombies.
I don't think you accurately describe the opinions of tube users, and your notion that they comprise a "cult" of "zombies" is absurd. The suggestion that a preference for tubes should be substantiated by an a/b/x test is just plain silly and if tubes were marching to the casket 40 years ago, companies such as Audio Research would never have flourished.

The quality and reliability of the tubes made by those arcane foreign suppliers is a subject worthy of concern.
That's silly. It's obviously of no concern to you because you don't use tubes. And it clearly is not an issue for those who do choose to use tubes.

vacuum tubes are not a wise choice when stable circuit performance is a serious design goal
Really? How do you account for the many high quality and rock-stable vacuum tube products now being manufactured?

It looks like the facts and the market contradict your claims about the very nature of tubes.
vtvmtodvm
66 posts
 
Regarding "How do you account for the many high quality and rock-stable vacuum tube products now being manufactured?"---

The point is that there are NOT many vacuum tube products now being manufactured. World-wide, receiving-type vacuum tube products now comprise near-negligible numbers. It's purely limited to some hi-end audiophile products and guitar amplifiers, and that specialty market is simply infinitesimal. This state accounts for the fact that ALL of the traditional large corporate tube suppliers exited the business decades ago. Currently, tube production is limited to a small group of foreign opportunists who are sufficiently agile to extract profit by virtue of low cost manufacture and high selling price. This is characteristic of the last phase of life in a dying industry. Hey, it's dead technology; may it RIP.
 
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