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Tubes in Hi-End Preamps

I’m confused. If some of you engineer types could pipe in on this subject, it would be greatly appreciated. I know a little, but not a lot about electricity. I’ve been in the battery industry for 20 years and have taken two semesters of college electronics, so I know just enough to be dangerous.

For 15 years, I’ve been sans preamp. The idea being that I don’t want anything messing up the source signal. That limits me to one source only though, and I’ve finally caved in to the need to be able to access multiple sources with the turn of a knob.

It’ll be nice to finally have hifi sound when I watch DVDs, and I would like to spin vinyl again after 20 years away from analog. To that end, I have an Audio Illusions Modulus 3A unit on its way now.

OK, here’s my question:

Why is it that many higher end preamps, Audio Research for example, that are said to be “neutral” and “transparent” sounding use tubes in their designs? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier and less expensive to build a solid state circuit that produces clean, neutral, and transparent sound? Aren’t tubes supposed to “color” the sound?

I've noticed the presence of a lot more equipment out there (the latest generation of some designs) with tube output sections that are described as not sounding "tubey." What's the point then of having tubes?

I hope I haven’t opened a can of worms here.
blumusician
kjweisner's avatar
kjweisner
293 posts
 
I think there's been a lot of work done in the last few years by both tube and solid state builders to eliminate or at least ameliorate those pejorative characteristics of either discipline. Tube-based builders have succeeded in becoming less tubey (warm, lush, euphonic, mushy), while solid state mfrs have likewise become less solid state (clinical, brittle, etched, etc.).

I personally own both tube and solid state gear from B.A.T. It seems evident that their philosophy is either can be done well, and that there should be little gross difference between them. They build both tube and solid state designs for both pre- and power amps, and have achieved acclaim in the press and satisfaction from buyers.

To be sure, some tube-based designs deliberately deliver the traditional tube sound and there are buyers for whom this is the satisfying choice. I would likewise assert that some solid state gear displays a certain 'sound' that is pleasing to others. In each case, system dependency is frequently a major factor.

I don't believe either is intrinsically incapable of delivering neutrality and/or musicality. . .but I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be a a first.
lostbears's avatar
lostbears
538 posts
 
In theory you are right, the less in the signal path the better. But in practice this is not always the case. My CD player sounds much better running through my preamp than straight into my amp. With a different amp or CD player it might sound better. I think one of the most important things is system synergy. You can have two very expensive and great sounding pieces that just don't sound good together.

No audio equipment sounds perfect, no matter how high end. There is always a bit of a compromise. Some tube equipment can sound tubey and euphoric. Some SS can sound very detailed but thin and lifeless. The best stuff is somewhere near the middle of these two extremes. It is a matter of what you prefer and what sounds best to you. I own a Audio Research LS25 and I am very happy with it. It is very detailed but does not sound thin and lifeless to me. It is one of the most musical preamps I have heard. My advice would be to listen to everything you possibly can, both tube and SS and see what sounds best to you with the rest of your system.

jeff_jones
418 posts
 
I really like Kjweisners take on things. Another tidbit, fwiw, is that the solid state route typically is more prone to higher frequency harmonic distortion than tubes. A popular school of thought is that our ears and brains find this type of distortion more unpleasant than the higher magnitude/lower frequency distortion that has to be dealt with in tube designs. It may be that our ears interpret lower order harmonic distortion the same way they interpret delayed reflection of sound from building surfaces, and so the distortion can come across as pleasant and natural sounding, or at least not very offensive. Or maybe not. Hope you like the new pre-amp!
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