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

My tube preamp is a Linear Tube Audio MZ2. Maybe tube rolling changes the sound, but I prefer a different tool: the five-band parametric equalizer in the RME ADI FS2 DAC. Sometimes I run it flat, and sometimes I run it with a boost in the lower midtones (250 - 500 HZ). The difference in sound is apparent. And the DAC should last longer than almost any preamp tube.

 

Well, contrary to what others have posted, I understand that many phono stage manufacturers ship their units with crappy stock tubes. The reason? They know that tube sound and quality is relatively subjective, that people pay top $ for some tubes from the 1950s, that tube rolling exists and that therefore the user is going to immediately put his or her own tubes in upon installation. 

As I did. 

"vintage" also may imply that something became a classic and has a historical value. So I will call only excellent old tubes vintage not all of them.

Yeah, signal tubes from 50s or even late 40s.