2. amps-preamps
  3. 1293494127

how close in sound can a tube and ss amp sound ?

i have observed threads requesting advice regarding tube sounding solid state amps, within a price point.

i wonder how to confirm such a request.

in addition to recommendations, what about comparing a particular ss amp to a particular tube amp using an experimental design where bias, or preconception has been eliminated ?

has anyone tested the hypothesis that he/she cannot detect the difference between a tube and a ss amp, within the same power range, price point and minimizing interaction problems, such as impedeance mismatches ?

on the other hand if someone is seeking a tube-like sound out of a solid state amp, i would assume that one would use a "classic" sounding tube amp, e.g., cj mv 45, cj 75, cj 100, or cj mv125 as the tube amp and try to find a ss amp that is indistinguishable from the sound of the classic tube amp.

i have found that many ss amps differ with respect to bass and treble response from many tube amps.

in my own case, i would love to find a 120 watt ss amp which sounds like my vtl tube amp. unfortunately, i am not optimistic.

in other threads, some people have stated that it is impossible to find a ss amp that is "tube-like", in the classic sense.
mrtennis
auxetophone
114 posts
 
I think it's true for most of us as well. However, a consideration - especially for a tube amp, where watts is not quite so cheap - is how badly do you need to avoid clipping?

If an amp clips very gracefully (i.e., it only gently compresses the loudest dynamics and sounds good in the process), then it might not make financial sense to buy an amp powerful enough to never clip.

My solid state amps are all large enough to easily stay in the linear range, but I do have a couple small tube amps that I probably drive into clipping on the very loudest peaks. Nevertheless, the nature of these amps is apparent even at very low volumes, so I don't think their clipping behavior explains the "tube sound".

If we were discussing guitar amps, the story would be very different, since distortion is intentional there.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,807 posts
 
Maybe you should write one of your white papers to make it easier for the those of us living in the forest to understand. How about:

"The inaudible effects of clipping when comparing 2 amplifiers that aren’t clipping but would if you pushed them to clipping levels and the resultant perceptions of the listeners who infrequently listen at clipping levels".

It would be more about the 'audible effects of inaudible clipping'. However many have beat me to the subject, some by decades. The earliest I have read about this comes from Norman Crowhurst in the 1950s.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
Acutally I'm more interested in inaudible effects and ineffectual audibles.

Thanks
larryi
3,993 posts
 
It is interesting that most of the comments have to do with differences at clipping levels. To me, the biggest differences are at quite low volume levels. A lot of solid state gear sounds flat, dull and unengaging, compared to tube gear, at lower volume levels.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
It seems to me that a lot of the attention on this thread about the differences between ss and tubes is referenced to how they differ in regard to how they clip, even if the clipping is inaudible(?!). I can understand that the clipping might be so minor that the distortion that certain low levels of clipping is generating, might not obviously sound like clipping, but manifest itself as some other perceived audible consequences. With all that said, it would seem apparent that the best recourse would be to avoid clipping all together. It would also seem apparent that the best way to do so would be with more power. While the speaker load, room volume, desired dB levels, and program source will determine what power requirements will actually be needed. Though not necessarily in all cases, it would seem that dollar for dollar it would be easier to accomplish that with ss.
More to discover