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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
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,597 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.  
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cleeds
5,964 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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cleeds
5,964 posts
 
vtvmtodvm
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.
Not exactly. This is a an audiophile forum. By definition, the world of audio enthusiasts is pretty small compared to the world of consumer electronics in general. Within the world of high-end audio, vacuum tube technology looms rather large. It's like the LP - many users use tubes even though the solid state alternative exists.

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.
Oh no, this is mistaken. Please check your facts. Domestic tube manufacturing lives. And to call tube manufacturers "opportunists" is really unwarranted. Making tubes is a legitimate business, even if it disturbs you.

Hey, it's dead technology
With apologies to Mark Twain, rumors of the death of vacuum tubes are greatly exaggerated.
vtvmtodvm
66 posts
 
cleeds---when I last attempted to determine the remaining manufacturers of (receiving type) vacuum tubes some 18 months ago, there were zero based in the USA. That's fact. You now indicate that "Domestic tube manufacturing lives." WHERE does it live? Who has entered the business? Do appreciate that I'm talking about manufacturing. That excludes domestic importers that do some tube matching and then resell, often using a private brand label.

It's true that tube usage within the world-wide sphere of the consumer electronics market is insignificant. It's also true that tube usage within the audio equipment market is but a tiny fraction of the net business. It's of significance only to an isolated group of select consumers and sellers with needs that might never get served if it was not for the guitar people. That does not look like a healthy forecast for the future, so stock up now!  
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