Well, some will say that transistors are not worse, they simply sound different. But I think most audiophiles, especially those with almost unlimited budget, do prefer tube equipment.
Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better?
Yes tubes are more involved and require periodic maintenance. Hybrid tube components need not apply, these are really solid state.
Tubes are better for multiple reasons and yet the world and the trade prefers solid state. Those rare audio shops that are geared toward stereo listening and serious connoisseurs tend to Focus more on tubes. Those in business who like to improve volumes tend to offer solid state. All the YouTube channels looking to improve their business tend to be solid state. Maybe because tubes require much more expertise to sell, and there's lesser and lesser to go around. Solid state is more of a fast food commodity.
Tubes are difficult for businesses due to all the maintenance and complexity so you see it less often. Much much easier to sell hybrids or solid state.
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@inna You're correct in that I 'might' disagree. There are class D amps now that have the same distortion signature as a good tube amp and so unsurprisingly sound like them in that they are smooth and detailed, lacking harshness, with organic mids and highs. But more detailed owing to lower distortion. It took 60 years (since tubes were declared 'obsolete' back in the 1960s), but class D has made power tubes obsolete. I am not saying that all class D amps have done this as they clearly haven't. IME class D amps vary in sound quality more than tube amps do. But class D does offer a way to make an amp that sounds very musical- in the way that some tube amps sound musical. But better.
There are engineering reasons why tubes and traditional solid state sound different. As a result, most solid state amps generate unmasked higher ordered harmonics that are interpreted by the ear as harsh and bright while most tube amps have these harmonics masked. This is what has kept tubes in business for so many decades- now longer as 'obsolete' than when they were the only game in town. In the paragraph above is a clue as to how to make a solid state amp that does not sound like traditional 'solid state'. FWIW its very difficult to do that with class AB designs- the problem you run into as a designer is getting enough Gain Bandwidth Product is tricky, as is obtaining adequate Phase Margin so the amp is stable. If you don't know what those terms are, look them up. Class D offers solutions for both. This allows you to run a lot more feedback without running into some of the problems it causes (such as unmasked higher ordered harmonic generation)- it can more effectively do its job. Any amplifier manufacturer should be on notice at this point that tube power amps are on life support/borrowed time because of the tools offered to the designer by class D. If they don't get a handle on it they will be left behind. In ten years, tube producers will be dealing with a vastly reduced market due to the incursions class D is making in the guitar amplifier world- in case you don't know it, guitar amps are the bread and butter of tube producers as they use more 100x more 6L6s, EL34s and KT88s than home audio does.
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