I hate to say it, but now I think maybe I like my amp in ultralinear mode versus triode

@emergingsoul ... Audio manufacturers do an abysmal job explaining what their products do. It’s a mystery box and you really have to dig in to figure it out. ...

 

Ultra linear is a sexy term used by the manufacturer. Cary has not done a very good job to explain it on their website. ...

What you are not aware of and dont seem to understand is these amp circuits and designs were intentionally kept secret, undocumented, not openly shared by the original owner, founder, designer - so others dont try to cheat, steal, copy them.

For your awareness, its done this way on purpose. As you research more, you’ll learn more about what these circuits of strapped triode, ultralinear, actually represent beyond the uninformed nonsensical marketing jargon you are trying to make it out to be. When you own and use one of these amps, you'll understand more that its not just marketing.  They truly can sound different, and people pay up for them just to own one.  

@atmasphere , I probably used the term "voicing" in error. I probably do not even have a layman's grasp on the subject that we are discussing, but at least I keep a relatively open mind and I am always trying to learn more.  What I meant was that, although I cannot speak for the designer of the V12, was that maybe he probably designed with triode being the optimal mode and the EL34 being the optimal tube, even though he also designed it to be switchable to ultralinear via six toggle switches and that besides the EL34 he lists a few other octal tubes that he says can be used?

As an aside, back in '20 I contacted Jim McShane about retubing that amp, and I had heard so much about the Gold Lion (reissued) KT77 I told him I was interested in them.  He emailed me back and gave me the impression that he wasn't crazy about selling me anything but EL34s for that amp.  I emailed him back and said that 'you know more about it than i do, so if you think I'd be happier with EL34s  than GK KT77s, let's do EL34s.'  He emailed me back and said something to the effect of, 'That's not what I said.  The GL KT77 is a fine tube which I can sell you, but there may be issues with biasing it in that amp.'  Which, with my limited understanding & knowledge of the subject, was good enough for me, and I bought a dozen of the reissued Tungsol EL34Bs from him, which I am still running today.

Anyway, I appreciate the time you take explaining things on this site.  

@immatthewj having dealt with both of these characters on amps, different tubes, options, I’ll say you are a bit on your own until you partner with a great local tech who can open up these amps and tell you what’s really going on inside of them.

I’m always leary of tube resellers who are likely trying to sell you what they have on hand or can get easily vs something they dont’ have on hand or need to order or cannot get so easily during different cycles of tube availability any given month of the year. Yes, and, Dennis did and still does "voice" his amps [in his own mind] trying different circuits, tubes, transformers, and more to achieve a different sound that he likes. Having owned various Cary Audio and Inspire by Dennis Had amps, all of them sounded different in triode, strapped triode, ultralinear modes too. And, my other ultralinear circuit mono tube amps sound different yet again from the former Cary and Inspire amps. Voicing, Marketing, whatever - back to listening to be the final judge of what you like and hear for your own system :)

@emergingsoul

Ultra linear is a sexy term used by the manufacturer. Cary has not done a very good job to explain it on their website.

ultralinear is a term that is not limited to just one manufacturer, kind of like AC or DC is not limited to any single manufacturer.

I think they’re taking advantage of the technology to promote something that is questionable as to sonic credibility. It’s not a very popular feature. I have never seen it before

I am not sure what you mean by all of this, but just because you have never seen it before doesn’t mean anything. Read the Wiki article I posted the link for. I think it states that the UL circuit was originally patented in 1937. As far as being switchable from one circuit topology to the other, that’s nothing new either. For all the good that it may not have done me, I subscribed to Stereophile throughout most of the ’90s up until ’02 and I’ve read reviews of more than one manufacturers amp that was switchable. What sticks in my mind were a pair of VTL or Manley Labs (I get the two manufacturers mixed up) that were switchable between triode and either ultralinear or pentode. Earlier in this very thread, in a part of the conversation with @decooney , we were talking about an amp called The Baron which was manufactured in the late ’90s by Mesa (dual monoblocks in one chassis with adjustable feedback and a dozen 5881 output tubes); the circuit(s) were switchable between triode and what Mesa was calling pentode, in thirds, and for that, Mesa was using ONLY TWO toggle switches PER SIDE. One switch controlled two pair of tubes, and the other switch controlled one pair of tubes. In other words, both switches could be in either triode or pentode, OR, one switch could have one pair of tubes in triode while the other switch would put two pair of tubes in pentode--OR vice versa. For those who think amps do not make a difference in the sound . . . they should hear the Mesa baron . . . I tiook one home for a weekend and the sonic differences were significant--but not all good. I stayed with the smaller tube amp I was running at the time (another smaller Cary wired in full time ultralinear) and later upgraded to a pair of ARCs (also wired in full time ultralinear) and due to reliability issues with the ARCs (although they sounded fantastic) I bought the V12 I started this thread by discussing.

If you think that the word ultralinear is "sexier sounding" than the word "triode", I can only tell you that if you read Dennis Had’s (the designer of the V12) description of the triode circuit, you might come away thinking that triode is the "sexier sounding" term.

Seems the self-inflicted-comical poster sees the initial post heading, reads little in between, goes straight to the end, and just starts replying with whatever comes to mind to get folks stirred up.