Is there an explanation for this?

Son-of-Vere

Super Member
ttubes.jpg

Has anyone seen this? While shopping for for preamps, I came across this, a 24 tube headphone amp. What is the motivation behind this?
 
well if one tube is good, two are better, 24 must be completely awesome no?

output transformerless most likely, lots of tubes in parallel to get low output impedance. Guessing the tubes they are using are fairly high plate resistance so it takes a whole bunch to get the output impedance low enough to drive anything.
 
Even transformer-less, seems a bit of a stretch for a headphone amp unless you're running hardcore electrostatics ...
 
Even transformer-less, seems a bit of a stretch for a headphone amp unless you're running hardcore electrostatics ...
I'm assuming its set up as a massive cathode follower and the bank of capacitors are the output coupling arrangement. Still may be wrong but thats all I got.
 
There does seem to be a push for "more" with a lot of tube amps. Not so much more power, just more tubes. Frankly I don't much care for it. I've heard some over-tubed and under-engineered things and honestly they don't sound good.
 
there's been many, many paralleled tube amps everywhere. some have paralleled power tubes
others have paralleled 12ax7s.

consider where the tubes, the PCB factories, the supply chain (bolts, chassis, resistors, caps, power cords)
are made. then add in the HUGE market demand for goods in the emerging middle class.

and the "creativity" of people who will work for less than us.

guess what happens in about 20 years.

BUY now, and enjoy the music.
 
Just a personal opinion, but my motivation for using tube hifi was always simplicity. Less, not more. Whether or not this equates to lower output-z or higher output wattage has never been the biggest priority with the tube gear I've run.
 
I am not a big believer in different kinds of capacitors having "special" sonic characteristics. But it seems the same purists who don't like output transformers would not like having electrolytic capacitors in the signal path (used as coupling caps for this sort of amp)... I'm not claiming it's a bad amp. It might be excellent. The reasons people would choose this instead of a traditional design just seem inconsistent.
 
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