What do the different tube amp types mean?

Hi BDChem, everybody posted some good info. Being vain, I’ll post some more. ;-)

Vacuums tubes used for audio reproduction can be triodes, tetrodes or pentodes.

To make things a bit complex, tetrodes and pentodes can be wired to run in triode mode, pentode mode or ultralinear mode.

For all combinations of the above tube tubes and how they can be wired, they can be deployed in either single ended or push pull configuration in an amplifier.

So you could have a single ended tetrode amplifier or a push pull pentode wired in triode mode. I believe there are 10 possible configurations?

People like Ralph makes things even more complex by building tube amps that have no output transformers. So now you can have any combination running with or without output transformers. (Note. I don’t believe it is possible to have an OTL amp that is ultralinear.)

And then some amps allow you to run in a hybrid mode. Cary’s V12 series amps can be run in partial ultralinear and partial triode mode.

I believe they all sound very different. I say I believe, as I have not heard all the possible configurations and probably never will.

Regards
Paul

Super thanks a lot!!!!

Friend

To summarize the responses - it's all in how it handles the signal! I can tell you that the Triode will be the most honest, but you will have to look at Pentode if you want to wake the neighbors! What the vacuum tube does so well? Realism! You can have a great sounding stereo with transistors - but nothing does realism like a vacuumtube.

Studio 1

These are the choices we have in tube amplifier.
Topology in circuitry;
**single ended,
** tubes used,DHT/indirectly heated,,, like 300b,kt88,,211,,845.
*push-pull,
**tube used DHT or not DHT,,300b,,kt88
*OTL,
3 types of topology of tube OTL
** tube used,,,like 300b,211 0r 6as7,6c33c,7242 kt88,etc.
***different tubes used in one of these amps have different sound and over 1000 combinations/sounds.

Realdeal, there are no practical OTLs using 300bs, 211s or KT88s; just for the record.