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Power output of tube amps compared to solid states

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how tube amp power output relates to solid state power output. I've been looking at the classifieds for tube amps and I see lots of tube amps with 50w or 60w output, but nothing close to the 250w output typical of solid state amps.

So I have no idea what type of tube amp is required for my set up, right now I'm using totem forests with a required power rating of 150w-200w at 8ohms. The bass is so powerful on these that I have the sub crossover set to 40hz.

My question is, are tube amps so efficient that 50w from a tube sounds like 150w from a solid state? Or will 50w output from a tube severely limit how loud I can play my speakers? If so, are tubes usually meant to be driving super-high efficiency speakers?

I had previously tried a tube pre-amp with a solid state power amp (both musical fidelity) and didn't like the results because the imaging suffered greatly, even though the music sounded nicer from a distance. Now I want to try a solid state pre-amp (bryston) with a tube power amp (no idea which brand to look at), but I don't know how much power output I need or if it will even be possible with my speakers. Does anyone know what I would require?
acrossley
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Atmasphere, thank you. I read the link again, it's a good read and worth re-reading. The link points to feedback as the anathema to good sound. I tend to agree with that, but, as the link suggests the lack of feedback is not exclusive to tubes, and doesn't suggest to the amount of feedback that becomes objectionable and/or might provide an appropriate balance of pros to compensate for the cons.
Perhaps better for another thread, but, I could imagine a digital processing ss amplifier that could use feedback and then correct for the time lag.
While the OP's speakers might seem to be better suited to tube amps, I think the blanket promotion of the notion that lower powered tube amps sound louder than lower powered ss amps is misleading, and furthermore that the premise of choosing a system around amplification is misguided. You of course, may disagree.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,803 posts
 
Unsound, well, not vehemently at least :)

All the things I have looked at in the last 35 years or so point to tubes more closely obeying the rules of human hearing than transistors, mostly due to better linearity. So for the most part, I would build a system around the amplification, and look for a speaker that matches, rather than the other way 'round. It seems to me that this is an easier path to a system that sounds like real music.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,199 posts
 
Atmasphere,

What speakers cannot be driven by SS and why?

Thanks!
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Is there such a thing? Seems like SS can drive anything, it just won't sound as good as tubes with speakers that can be driven effectively by tubes.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Atmasphere, it's exactly here where we diverge. IME, speakers both objectively and subjectively vary more than other components, and have a more varied response in different rooms/setups. With that said, all the speakers I seem to prefer, work best with ss. It seems to me that speakers that work best with tubes, do so with that intention, and seem to suffer much greater compromises in order to do so. IMHO, those compromises swamp what ever advantages tubes might(?)offer. With that said, it would seem to me that the easiest path to a system that sounds like real music is to build a system around the constraints we have the least control of; budget/room, and the speakers which adapt to those variables more so than any other components, and to their more varied unique voices to which our own unique specific sensitivities must adapt to more so than with any other components. YMMV :-).
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