Many tube brands are designing their current amps to sound more like SS, precisely because many people criticized the typical older models for being, well, too "tubey". Proves you can't please all the people all the time.
Why don’t tube amps sound like tubes anymore?
When I hear the latest tube amps I’m more reminded of what a solid state amp sounds like than what I remember a tube amp once sounded like. I say that, with most tube amps I hear today, but not all. Gone seems to be the lush tones, warm glow and natural harmonics I used to hear. What I hear is more of a thoroughbred, faster, sharper sound when I listen to a modern tube design today. Then why use tubes?
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hiendmmoe Why don’t tube amps sound like tubes anymore? I found with many of the tube amps I owned (especially remember a pair of 100w switchable ultralinear/triode/pentode monoblocks 4 x NOS 6550 GE mil spec each amp I had), "and improved the sound" on over many months with better interleaved output transformers better caps, getting the tubes to work in the more linear part of their curves, power supplies etc etc. The "better I made those tube amps and others sound and measure", the closer they got to the sound of "great high bias solid state amps", the rest is history for me with tubes, never again. Cheers George |
Wima caps wee used in most of the Counterpoint power amps and preamps. That being said, I would call those products not sounding like tubes even as hybrids. The mosfets gave that warm sound. Taking out the Wima for Nichicon and V-Caps retains the musical sound but more to what you are describing. Replacing the mosfets with bi-polar transistors is another story. Happy Listening. |
- 72 posts total