2. amps-preamps
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Would you buy a tube amp if you were unable to use vintage tubes in it ?

Not available or too expensive.

Hmm.., I don't think I have a definitive answer for myself, but I would do my best to avoid such amps. There is no substitute for great tubes, I guess, especially if you value sophisticated sound.

 

inna
cleeds
6,140 posts
 

ghdprentice

In simple inexpensive amps perhaps the tube can get you somewhere better and more sophisticated. But for carefully designed high end amps, the tubes are chosen for availability and general character and then the rest of the component is designed to achieve a very specific sound. The goal is the specific sound characteristics… and all the components are chosen to achieve it ...

I think that's true. It means that with gear such as ARC, you're most likely to get a neutral sound. If you want to fiddle with tubes and use them as a sort of EQ device, that's fine. But then modern tube gear such as ARC probably isn't for you.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,807 posts
 

I wouldn’t buy anything new that relied on vintage products to sound good.  Kinda silly really but there is something for everyone. 

whart's avatar
whart
3,170 posts
 

@bigtwin I think the answer was supposed to be the transistor but I've been around long enough to remember how much better the ARC SP3 preamp sounded than its solid state competition in the early-mid '70s. And, insofar as tube manufacture is concerned, I think it is a combination of things: materials and worker safety, tooling and loss of know-how for what is at best a now a niche market. That tubes were still manufactured in the old Soviet bloc had less to do with their belief in old technology than it was their inability to modernize. Sure, there are similar issues with rare earth materials involved in semiconductor manufacture, but the tube is obsolete and as such, people go back to the days when they were still a mainstream product. Did you ever see those old newsreels on video of the production of Mullard tubes? Fascinating- it was like a steampunk assembly line.

Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvF89Bh27Y 

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,190 posts
 

Yes, 100% - and this is the situation for basically any power amp that uses a quad or more of KT88+ tubes. Or anything with 6H30 - which is an excellent tube; arguably better than alternate types with vintage options (6922). Vintage tubes are great, but new tubes are better than no tubes.

sns
3,796 posts
 

Plenty of very nice modern 300B, 845, EL34 tubes. I'd definitely have an issue devoid NOS for most others.

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