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Thinking of getting a tube amp but...

C

CavScout

Super Member
I have always had hi quality, hi reliability solid state amplifiers like Marantz, McIntosh and Sansui.
Those products were always great performing and problem free from purchase to retirement.
I think tube amps are cool and I do like the sound but I have known a few people who switched to SS and were happy to be rid of the tube gear.
The reason was always the same.
They were tired of taking it to the shop or shipping it somewhere for an expensive repair.
Is this a normal thing with owning a tube amp ?
I am leaning towards a primaluna
 
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I don't think it's a normal thing if you buy an older unit that's been properly restored or a new unit from a reputable company with a good reputation for reliability.

The reason I went away from tube amps is a) I needed more power, b) I listen to music 8-10hrs a day, often in the background, and I didn't like the cost associated with changing out power tubes as often as I'd need to. Also, I think a good SS amp can sound as good as a good tube amp. But I still have a couple of tube amps that I intend to keep, they're just not used in my main system that gets used all the time.
 
I would say that it's less likely for a tube amp to run for 20 years without a problem (ie tube replacement) than a solid state amp but I do think when things go wrong it's more likely that the tube amp is fixable/worth fixing than the solid state. With a modest amount of service it should be very possible to run a tube amp for 80 years or more, and I don't think that is true of many solid state amps.
 
CavScout said:
I have always had hi quality, hi reliability solid state amplifiers like Marantz, McIntosh and Sansui.
Those products were always great performing and problem free from purchase to retirement.
I think tube amps are cool and I do like the sound but I have known a few people who switched to SS and were happy to be rid of the tube gear.
The reason was always the same.
They were tired of taking it to the shop or shipping it somewhere for an expensive repair.
Is this a normal thing with owning a tube amp ?
I am leaning towards a primaluna
Click to expand...
Once they're sorted out they can be trouble free outside of tube replacement. The Primaluna have a pretty good history of reliability. I will say that steering clear of the cheapest of cheap tubes (not naming any brand in particular here, but...) is a good strategy. Buy from a respected vendor and you'll likely be happier when it's time to replace stuff. FWIW, I run tubes 90% of the time but keep SS on hand for backup.
 
Vintage electronics, whether tube or SS, will need maintenance. Tubes are kind of like tires on a car, they wear out and you replace them, just part of owning tubes, some last a year some several (depends on the amp design and tube quality).

Tube amps can be a hobby by themselves, or you can stick with the stock tubes and enjoy.
 
I listened to a new Macintosh 275 tube amp last week and I still don't understand the attraction to them. Yes I think they are cool looking, but they just don't have any balls to get a speaker going.
 
Hobie1dog said:
I listened to a new Macintosh 275 tube amp last week and I still don't understand the attraction to them. Yes I think they are cool looking, but they just don't have any balls to get a speaker going.
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Depends on the efficiency of the speakers your trying to drive with it.get yourself a pair of 100db horns and that 75w will tell you different.
 
Hobie1dog said:
I listened to a new Macintosh 275 tube amp last week and I still don't understand the attraction to them. Yes I think they are cool looking, but they just don't have any balls to get a speaker going.
Click to expand...
One of my early really "Hifi" systems consisted of a pair of Magnepan IIIa speakers, MFA Magus tube preamp, and M75 PP KT88 mono amps, and Sota Star Sapphire t'table. That combo blew peoples minds. The imaging was incredible. you could hear sound effects go clearly past the outside boundaries of the speakers and seemingly behind your head all the way around to the other side speaker. But in my latest system of high efficiency Altec 19 speakers, and lowish power single ended amps, the "you are there" sensation at your own concert is uncanny and hair raising. Bass thumping in your gut. The sonic nuances of the kick drum from the mallet's initial strike on the skin to its elastic give and rebound. Frankly, SS never recreated that quality, and in fact neither did that MFA amp, or any of the other vintage tube amps that i own. And vocals, as they say in Jersey, fogedaboutit!
 
Concur with the posters above with respect to reliability. Good vintage gear properly restored or well-made modern tube gear should not have major problems, but does have to be maintained from time to time (tubes and setting bias, mainly). I like vintage gear and I compare it to vintage cars a little--if you like the look and unique appeal of the older/classic stuff, you have do do a little maintenance and tuning from time to time and take care of it to keep it running in top form. That's part of the attraction to me. That's not necessarily true for all listeners.

Nor is solid state gear fool proof, although it is generally quite reliable. I have repaired solid state gear that has failed more than once, including one nice Sansui hi-power receiver that was on it second set of driver and ouput transistors on one channel.

When I got into tube gear I found that in direct comparisons (same source, same speakers), my solid state gear that I always loved sounded a bit dull and one dimensional in comparison (and it wasn't bad stuff--but definitely not audiophile grade). The tube gear just sounded better to me, especially when paired with vintage speakers like AR, Klipsch, KLH, Bozak. I'm not a 'power listener,' so loads of deep, driving bass is not necessary--I want a standup bass to sound like one sounds live. My experience has been more like Primo's above. In fact, I've not had a single-ended amp but his comments have pushed me over the top and I'm going to acquire or build one to compare to my push-pull tube gear.

Good luck with your search!
 
Once properly serviced, vintage tube amps will last for years. The same is true of vintage SS amps.
 
My first tube amp was a Primaluna 5. I purchased it used, and it NEVER gave me a hint of trouble. It also provides some interesting opportunity to play with tube rolling, which is fun and actually can make a big difference. The 'physical' part of tube replacement could not be easier, and the Primaluna requires no periodic biasing. The Primaluna served me very well for several years, and they I was motivated to try a tube SET amp. It held its value, and I sold it for pretty much what I paid for it. A really wonderful experience. My brother purchased a Primaluna (integrated) on my recommendation, and is still thrilled several years on. No affiliation with Primaluna.
 
Hobie1dog said:
I listened to a new Macintosh 275 tube amp last week and I still don't understand the attraction to them. Yes I think they are cool looking, but they just don't have any balls to get a speaker going.
Click to expand...

Utter, complete nonsense! 75+ RMS tube watts per channel and you say that? What are you using, speakers with an efficiency rating of under 80db at 1 watt? Or, is your listening room ballroom sized? Again, a very silly post IMHO.
 
tuberadios69 said:
Utter, complete nonsense! 75+ RMS tube watts per channel and you say that? What are you using, speakers with an efficiency rating of under 80db at 1 watt? Or, is your listening room ballroom sized? Again, a very silly post IMHO.
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i forgot ro mention room size in my original post and im glad you brought it up.
:rockon:
 
Those issues are also more common with vintage guitar amps with their tone and reverb circuitry, and common penchant for keeping everything original when new parts might be more prudent. Not to mention wear and tear of lugging them around.
 
For a novice like me, tube amps are way easier to fix than a solid state amp.

I've brought a few dead tube amps back to life just by putting in new capacitors. It's not hard to do, and even though I can barely read a schematic I can almost always figure out the values. Plenty of help online if you need a little guidance.

I've tried to fix a couple solid state amps, but if deoxit doesn't get it going I have no idea what to do. Tube amps are much more simple.
 
CavScout said:
I think tube amps are cool and I do like the sound but I have known a few people who switched to SS and were happy to be rid of the tube gear.
The reason was always the same.
They were tired of taking it to the shop or shipping it somewhere for an expensive repair.
Is this a normal thing with owning a tube amp ?
Click to expand...
Not here. My C-J tubed power amp has never seen a repair shop since the day it was built (nearly 20 years ago, by my estimate), and I was the first to replace the factory tubes just last year, right after I bought it. I don't hear of many of these amps going bad, other than older amps possibly needing some new capacitors in the power supply (the older models might have used electrolytics...and those go bad in anything with age, not just tube amps. Other brands? No clue. PrimaLuna is known to drive tubes at a lower level than other manufacturers so that the tubes can have a longer life.
 
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