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The "Tube" sound
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jaymanaa
RIP 1961-2018
Just an opinion mind you, but I think it's "musicality" that bonds us to tube amplifiers. Like an instrument the artist is playing on the source material, a good tube amp also compliments the artists strengths. Hi-Fi to me seems like a really good trick (esp. stereo Hi-Fi). Perfection and complete fidelity to the source may not always be as pleasing to the ear in a home setting. That said, tubes seem to bring out subtle nuances and transients as good as the best SS amps. The downside is money and maintenance. You can buy a damn nice SS amp that will last years and years without having the cover taken off for a couple hundred bucks, while a similar quality (and power) tube amp will initially cost much more money and will require periodic maintenance. Just my 2 cents though.
Actually, a truly well-designed tube amp will frequently do LESS damage to the signal, compared to a solid-state amp. Or, at least, the damage is less apparent.
Even the best transistors are LESS linear than good tubes. It's only the fact that you can afford to use DOZENS of them (to correct for each others faults) that you get an acceptable amp out of transistors.
OTOH, a nice sounding tube amp can oftentimes be made with as little as two tubes per channel. In fact, I can demonstrate that fact, quite easily... since I just finished refurbishing a pair of Hammond AO44 amps that do just that.
Regards,
Gordon.
Even the best transistors are LESS linear than good tubes. It's only the fact that you can afford to use DOZENS of them (to correct for each others faults) that you get an acceptable amp out of transistors.
OTOH, a nice sounding tube amp can oftentimes be made with as little as two tubes per channel. In fact, I can demonstrate that fact, quite easily... since I just finished refurbishing a pair of Hammond AO44 amps that do just that.
Regards,
Gordon.
Kierkegaard
Active Member
It's all so subjective, of course, but the tube sound to me is both warmer and clearer, the details of the music seem more distinct. Also, I can listen to music longer and louder through my tube amp.
— K.
— K.
bronco
Active Member
Better articulated, more pleasing treble. Cymbals and horns sound especially nice. An "airiness" to the sound stage that increases the separation of instruments. Overall increase in detail and transparency.
It drives me nuts to see something that sounds "muddy" or rolled off treble described as "tube-like" sounding. Nothing could be farther from the truth with properly functioning and in-spec tube gear.
It drives me nuts to see something that sounds "muddy" or rolled off treble described as "tube-like" sounding. Nothing could be farther from the truth with properly functioning and in-spec tube gear.
dsndblm
Super Member
Many of the people that I have played my tube amps for have made comments like, "Wow, where did all those sounds come from", "It's so clear sounding", "I've hear that song a hundred times and never heard that". On New Years Eve a friend brought over a live Muddy Waters cd and commented, "its like we are sitting back row of a small club".
icenine
Super Member
I have to agree that my tube amp makes things sound very clear...it almost seems as if a filter has been removed. So softer music, like folk, blues and jazz seem really detailed and clear. Leonard Cohen's Live in London is a good example of what works with tubes IMHO. On SS to me it seems that there is added quality to the sound that makes it sound different to my ears but not worse....I enjoy listening to rock more on my Onkyo A-8087. Not better just different. Cool to have both worlds I guess.
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Bottleflow
Active Member
I always felt that most SS removes the mids and the sound stage.
reggaenaut
Addicted Member
Very subjective. I love both.
heekma
Well-Known Member
Great sound is great sound. SS can do it just as well as tubes.
At the modest end of the spectrum, tubes seem to have an unfair advantage of sorts when it comes to midrange--compared with modest SS equipment.
However, the flip side is most modest SS equipment will trounce most modest tube amps when it comes to low frequency response/control.
Apples, oranges, six of one, half dozen of the other. You makes your choice.
Move up the scale in terms of cost for both and tubes can catch up in the low frequency department, SS can catch up in the midrange department.
At any point in the cost chain, speaker matching will make or break either. So will room considerations.
I prefer tubes, but it's mainly from a construction standpoint. I like to build 'em, love to watch 'em glow. From that standpoint SS doesn't hold a candle--but that's a highly subjective perspective.
I've heard both kinds deliver great sound. Once a certain point is reached, great sound is simply great sound no matter what's providing it.
At the modest end of the spectrum, tubes seem to have an unfair advantage of sorts when it comes to midrange--compared with modest SS equipment.
However, the flip side is most modest SS equipment will trounce most modest tube amps when it comes to low frequency response/control.
Apples, oranges, six of one, half dozen of the other. You makes your choice.
Move up the scale in terms of cost for both and tubes can catch up in the low frequency department, SS can catch up in the midrange department.
At any point in the cost chain, speaker matching will make or break either. So will room considerations.
I prefer tubes, but it's mainly from a construction standpoint. I like to build 'em, love to watch 'em glow. From that standpoint SS doesn't hold a candle--but that's a highly subjective perspective.
I've heard both kinds deliver great sound. Once a certain point is reached, great sound is simply great sound no matter what's providing it.
kansei
Super Member
My theory is that most bands use tubes when producing and performing music (preamplifiers, amplifiers, microphones, PA systems). When you buy a solid-state guitar amp the manufacturer touts how their equipment sounds like tube equipment. There has to be a reason why they go to these lengths when they could just use solid-state gear.
By using tube equipment when listening, you have a better chance in recreating what they're trying to create during a live gig.
By using tube equipment when listening, you have a better chance in recreating what they're trying to create during a live gig.
beatcomber
AK Member
My experience with tube hifi is limited to a few consoles and a fully restored 1962 Voice of Music 1448 stereo amp with 6AQ5s (played through Klipsch Heresys).
The main difference I detect between tube and solid state is the bass is 'round' or 'squishy,' and the overall sound is very smooth and pleasant, with no jagged edges.
The main difference I detect between tube and solid state is the bass is 'round' or 'squishy,' and the overall sound is very smooth and pleasant, with no jagged edges.
JonL
Lunatic Member
I think it's important to recognize the differences between guitar amps and hi-fi amps. Guitar amps are intended to be a part of the instrument. The amp is intended to provide a sound of its own, a colorization, if you will. Hi-fi amps on the other hand are designed to be transparent reproducers of whatever they are fed. Any addition of its own sound is undesirable. The reason tubes are the gold standard for guitar amps is really an accident of history - a fortuitous accident, but an accident nonetheless. When electric guitars came into widespread use there were no solid state amps. Tube guitar amps were designed to be rugged and powerful while being reasonably lightweight and inexpensive enough for the working musician. These criteria led to a lot of design compromises. Tubes (that were of very high quality at the time) were routinely run way above the recommended design maximums to get as much bang for the buck as they could. Transformers were designed for the limited bandwith of the single driver speakers in most amps. Simple circuit topologies were used to save cost at the expense of linearity. The amps were tuned largely by ear to simply create a pleasing sound with the guitars of the day and for the music of the times. Once out in the field, some guitarists started pushing the envelope and ran the amps much louder than the designers intended or expected. The resulting highly distorted sound was pleasing and had a tremendous role in shaping how rock music was played and how people came to expect guitars to sound. Later, amp designers intentionally included circuitry to overdrive various parts of the circuit to create more and more distortion. These techniques would never, ever be used in a hi-fi amp. The pleasing sound of tube guitar amp distortion is difficult for solid state amps to emulate. Simply overdriving a solid state amp results in harsh, buzzy, non-musical sounding distortion. So amp designers have for decades attempted all kinds of ways to make solid state amps more closely emulate tube distortion. The way vacuum tubes or solid state components perform in guitar amplification really has little relationship with how tubes or solid state perform in hi-fi amps.
