TUBE BIAS, socket to me!

lewm,

I don't recall indicating surprise modern preamps do not have FM. Few have them now, and anyone can stream FM online. I don't stream digital in my music system, and don't listen to FM in the home theater.

Many/most young people never heard excellent FM quality, including many of my audiophile friends. I'm old enough to remember when FM first appeared in cars, gradually replacing those AM radios.

I used to use Carver FM (another used find at Harvey's, amazing reception capability), and now only listen to 1 station, WBGO Jazz, my designated FM antenna in the attic pointed at their broadcast antenna. This FM is every bit as good as they say. Much more involving sound than the Carver (on a shelf, resale value about $15).

I used tone controls when in college, Fisher 200T receiver, and a pair of AR2x's. Also knew how to properly use Loudness Control, low volume while pulling many all-nighter's listening to Allison Steele, the Nightbird,  or Cousin Brucie while the wife and baby slept.

Now I have my L-pads on my speakers, I have never used tone controls since, however I would want them just in case.

I adjust balance, and benefit when a track needs it, prior to Chase Remote Balance it was a walk up, back, up, back, start the track over, PITA, in any case I always want balance. Using Mono Blocks, with individual manual volume pots on lower shelf was not fun. I used to run Onkyo CD with 2 sets outputs, 1 with volume control, direct to amp to speakers

I have had 'skip the controls' preamp and the current Cayin has 'preamp bypass', skipping it's volume control. I never hear a difference, always go for convenience.

Tone controls, filters, ... can get noisy, I am very good at getting to them and properly cleaning them to their original noise free state.

Yes, OK.

@elliottbnewcombjr - aren't all audiophiles by definition fussy? If you don't care about high SQ I doubt you would categorize yourself as an audiophile. You didn't say why you prefer tubes, if you ever had them in your system, when that was, etc.

Your description (testing tubes, spraying tubes, replacing tubes, etc.) sounds like more to do than I currently do with my amp, which is nothing other than leave it on all the time (after 15 years I hope I am not jinxing myself) except to turn it off when the cleaning lady visits, just out of paranoia, even though she knows not to touch anything in the stereo. I am scared she or one of her girls might bump into something by accident.

@sokogear

Is it really worth all this fuss? Can’t you find a solid state amp that sounds as good or better, or are tubes less expensive for a given sound quality?

my 2 cents

yes, no, and no

ymmv

@sokogear

You are defending SS, great. You ought to start a new thread about 'tubes are too fussy ...'.

I and many others prefer tube sound quality, I find tubes more involving. After many years, I sum it up as simply this: analog gets both the fundamentals and overtones 'right'. If you want to know what other people love about tubes, it ain't words, go listen. Many have listened, heard differences, and prefer SS. Many love inefficient speakers and need SS to get enough power.

That's it, except, you have implied I shouldn't consider myself an audiophile, because I am not fussy enough to achieve audiophile sound quality. 

I have achieved, with fun not fuss, over many years, excellent sound quality. Primarily from Vintage gear. I believe, if you came here you would love the sound of my system. I've had excellent SS gear here.

Let's be clear, fussy people enjoy being fussy, it's part of their enjoyment.

Yes tubes are more fussy than SS. I am trying to tell you, if you hear and want tubes, don't fear, tubes don't need to be too fussy.

And, if you are tempted by tubes after hearing them, I believe any person with tube gear: owning a simple tube tester is part of having confidence with tubes. 

If you leave your SS on all the time, IMO you 'drank the koolaid'.

Tubes need break in when new, say 60 hours, after that, me: on just a few minutes before use.

I don't spray tubes, I spray the controls, moving parts with electrical contacts within vintage equipment using contact cleaner and lubricant. That's inherent with vintage equipment, not fussy, regular maintenance. SS doesn't need maintenance? I had to clean the controls of my McIntosh SS Preamp and SS Amp. Newer stuff, perhaps not.

Take great vintage stuff apart, see the thin wires, the 'good enough' parts, nowhere near the current 'audiophile' quality parts, yet those wires and parts is what made that company's reputation.

I'm not criticizing others, but for myself: What I hear: the difference between speakers, between the interaction of the space with those speakers. And excellent engineering of source material. Better TT (up to a point), cartridges.

I hear the difference between formats, LP and Tape, higher noise specs, surprising to many, always besting CD here, and Tubes always preferred to SS when compared here. 

Other than that, I'd rather buy more music than chase minute improvements, fussy improvements if you will.

I have a dedicated circuit for my preamp and amp. Everything else, CD, R2R, Cassette, 8 Track my Chase unit on a regular household circuit. Only one source device is on at a time.

NO: power conditioners, monster power cords, super fuses, directional interconnects, pure silver ... contact fluid on rca jacks, source equipment with external power supplies, weights on my cd player, bejeweled speaker cables, or trusses off the floor. 

Just 'good enough' quality equipment, via tubes to with very revealing  speakers luckily in a listening space great for them. 

I have a good friend with all of the above. He loves my system. We have brought much of his stuff over here, bit by bit, he has to admit, we don't hear a difference. I watch him search for 'better' for many years, frankly he needs a better space, and his speakers are terrific but too narrow dispersion and lack bass. Fixed on spikes (that I gave him), terrific imaging only for center spot. Minimum controls, minimum interconnects, no tone controls, ....

Once, only once that I remember, way back when, a group of golden eared reviewers finally agreed to a blind listening test. Between a Pioneer Receiver and high end separates, the 'best' of the day. Statistically, the answers were random, no discernable difference could be identified.

Once I got an interesting woofer at a garage sale, holes and tears in the cone. Just for fun I slapped some scotch tape on it, it sounded surprisingly good. Finally learned Einstein's theory of relativity.