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That "tube sound" and power ratings

This might be a newbie question since I've only begun researching tube technology. I understand to some degree the theory that tube sound is partly related to second harmonic distortion vs. the more prevalent odd order harmonic characteristics of SS. If "tubies" prefer that sound (I might be one of them), does it make sense to carefully match an amplifier's power rating such that it is NOT TOO HIGH for the speakers it's driving? If the rating is too high won't that mean lower distortion and hence less tube sound for a given volume for those speakers than a lower power tube amp (in general that is - I realize not all Watts are the same). So won't a high wattage tube amp have less of the special tube sound "tubies" like at their preferred listening volume?

I realize I'm likely missing something here. Set me straight!
hazyj
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,964 posts
 
Most SS based systems I have heard over the years were underpowered in terms of achieving optimal performance not on purpose but for not knowing any better and/or not having many practical and cost effective options available, or people just being satisfied and it just not mattering much.

Same true I suspect with tube amps. It's not that tube amp lovers seek distortion, but rather that it similarly may be even less of a real issue for some due to the more benign sound of soft clipping.
hazyj OP
90 posts
 
Mesch- Agreed! It's a bit of a circus in a classroom ... fun, educational and full of entertaining surprises.

Zd542, Zkzpb8, Charles1dad & Atmasphere - many thanks for keeping this thread moving forward.
hazyj OP
90 posts
 
Atmasphere writes ...

"you never want to push an SET past about 20% of full power or else the higher ordered distortion products come into play (when this happens, its usually on transients, and because the human ear uses the higher orders as loudness cues, the result is that the SET sounds a lot more dynamic than it has any right to because the loudness cues are occurring on the transients. You read about this 'dynamic' character with SETs all the time, but its an indication that the speaker used is not efficient enough)."

20% of full power (I'm assuming that means average power) is a significant % but not outrageous if the speakers aren't crazy-sensitive. Am I to understand that SET owners go into it knowing they NEED to keep this contract if they want to enjoy their sound? If the "SET sounds a lot more dynamic" as it encroaches on this forbidden region, isn't it reasonable to think that SET owners (or dealers or wannabes) might poke through that limit just a wee bit to enjoy the subtle excitement of the extra dynamics? I need to hear this myself to know, but my guess is that doing such a thing might lead to one of those "wow, I never heard THAT before!" kind of moments.
zkzpb8
212 posts
 
Good question, Hazyj...
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Underpowered amps of either type certainly wouldn't be the fault of the particular design. Operator error seems like the right diagnosis.
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