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solid state vs tubes

has anyone compared a tube amp to a solid state amp and discovered that the diffference sonically between them was undetectable. ? if so what was the tube amp and what was the solid state amp ?

the reason for the question is the basic issue of the ability to distinguish a tube amp from a solid state amp.

this is especially interesting if the components were in production during the 90's , 80's or 70's.

if the components are in current production the probability of such aan occurrence might increasea.

why own a tube amp if there exists a solid state amp that sounds indistinguishable from it ?
mrtennis
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,179 posts
 
Atmas,

Darn, I thought I submitted you on this topic.

Oh well...

So another way to look at it then is the soft clipping approach distorts the loudness cues by reducing them to make them more digestible to human ears.

OK, but real sound in the real world is what it is. There is nothing there to process the loudness cues in a more digestible manner. Not to say that may not be desirable in an amp.

Distortion and dynamics might be used interchangeably in discussion, but they are clearly two different things albeit often related despite what people might say or think.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
Mapman, I agree, the problem is this: distortion, in the form of exaggerated 5th, 7th and 9th harmonics (compared to the original sound) **masquerades** as 'dynamics'.

A simple way to tell that a system is lacking this distortion is that you can't tell how loud it is, until you find that you are shouting to talk to someone sitting right beside you.

Oh, and FWIW, soft clipping does not reduce the loudness cues. Its just more likely to not distort them as much. However clipping in any form is to be avoided, so we are talking about how the loudness cues may or may not get distorted when the system is not clipping at all.
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
I always chuckle when i here the great tube verses S.S. debate . The choice is simple , as long as you haven't made up your mind on one or the other . Bring home and try as many of both as you can , the one that sounds the best is the one . Its not the means its the results that are important to the true music lovers , I thought we all new that by now . MAX
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
Tmsorosk, this one was a little different as the OP wants a transistor amp that does what a tube amp does, without the hassle of tubes, if I read things right. There was a discussion of some differences between the technologies that you don't see in the usual debates.
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
Atmashere Sorry didn't mean to get off topic , it's an audiophile thing . I guess what I was trying to say , do we really want an amp or component thats trying to sound like another technology , or like real music ? MAx
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