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Tubes vs. solid state.

I just switched back to my ss equipment and can't see how I listened to ss for so many years and thought that I had a good system, maybe the equipment needs to be left on for some time.
But regardless of that, the difference is startling. I know that my tube equipment is not the same degree of excellence as my ss, but now ss sounds lean, thin lifeless. Have my listening priorities changed? One thing I noticed; my listening perception adapts to the sound present in the room. As I write this the sound is improving incremently.
Anyone share the same experience??
I will post as I will continue to listen and notice differences.
Ss is simaudio p-5 w-5, tubes are Cj premier 4 amp and audio experience a2se preamp.
Are there ss preamps that will satisfy or am I smitten by bubes I mean tubes.
pedrillo
rtn1
535 posts
 
Interesting concept about our hearing becoming accustomed to bad sounding equipment. That does not happen to me. In fact, bad sounding equipment sounds worse with time. Positive changes tend to quickly become assimilated into the sound and they become less noticable over time.

SS amps need very careful matching to reach their potential. The correct preamp and cables will make or break a SS amp. In fact, a cable can make all the difference between music that is involving, and a sound that is unpleasant.

If your SS amp has been in storage, it probably need 200-300 hours to break-in again. That is the likely reason for some improvement based upon the information provided.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
I have read articles about how your ears adapt to the sound given them, for instance, if there is too much high freq info the ears tame the high end (I forget if it was a physical or physcoacoustic effect). Maybe that is what you are experiencing...

FWIW whenever I go to AK Fest (hi fi show in Detroit) I go into each room and listen first and find out what the gear is after (in the hopes of being impartial) and always prefer the rooms with tube gear to the solid state gear which sounds flat and lifeless in comparison.

ymmv
pedrillo OP
560 posts
 
As a side track and a very pleasant one, talking about boobs has reminded me of a nice film with lovely well you know mammary glands. Anyone see la belle epoque, this was one of Penelope Cruz's early roles.
Then there is also After the Fox with Peter Sellers, an oldie but a classic. Kind of like tube amps, old but hot I mean classic.
phd
1,324 posts
 
It depends what tube gear is being compared to what solid state products. There are good and bad products in both camps. Generally I lean towards tubes in the preamp with a solid state amp but to each his own.

Anyway I think that all of us on this thread have been booby-trapped from time to time and whats even better, they usually come in matched pairs.
schipo
1,268 posts
 
FWIW whenever I go to AK Fest (hi fi show in Detroit) I go into each room and listen first and find out what the gear is after (in the hopes of being impartial) and always prefer the rooms with tube gear to the solid state gear which sounds flat and lifeless in comparison.

Is it just possible that visually knowing tube gear is playing your brain starts adjusting. What I am saying just suppose tubes were lit in a room and behind the curtain a SS amp were running the whole show. Do you think that it's just possible that you might relax and sit knowing it were tubes and not SS? Just a thought and not challenging.
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