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Tube amps vs solid state

B

BillyB

Well-Known Member
Which generally produce a quiter or cleaner sound?? Which are more accurate??

Tube Amps or Solid State??

What are some of the attributes people like about tube amps??

I have never heard a tube stereo amp, but have heard tube guitar amps. The tube amps seemed to have a very warm full tone. But I dont know which was quieter.

If anyone has any general info on tube amp sound it would be helpfull. I am not lookin for a light show. I am into tone.

At somepoint I am lookin to take my system to the next level and am just startin to research the possability of goin tube.

Thanks to everyone who provides information to less experienced individuals such as myself on a regular basis.

Sorry Guys, meant to post in tube audio. Feel free to chime in though
 
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Quieter and cleaner usually come from the stylus and condition of the record, unless you are talking about active filters? Scratch, click, pop, and rumble (subsonic) filters are usually implemented on SS gear.
 
As a general rule, tube amps have much higher THD than solid state amps, however the distortion tends to be different and not necessarily unpleasant. What's better is personal opinion and synergy. Tube power amps need efficient speakers. So consider what speakers you want when considering to go tube or SS on the power amp...

As for me, I am currently running a solid state power amp and tube preamp. The preamp was not the improvement I'd hoped for but it's fun just the same. It's very very clean. I like that combination. I have heard good examples of both designs. More generally, people will say that tubes are better at reproducing vocals and ss is better for bass.
 
Probably a better question for the general audio forum. It's one of those questions sure to raise some passion.

I currently use a tube amp with a passive attenuator/switch (from a user perspective it works and looks like a preamp, but it has no amplification stages). It's dead quiet except for a minute or so after startup. The tubes take a little time to settle. It also takes a good half hour to fully warm up, though I generally don't notice the subtle changes.

Some people will say that SS amps are more accurate, and others will say you need to spend huge dollars on SS to get what tubes provide for less (and tubes ain't cheap).

I'd recommend trying tubes. I could tell you how much I like what I have, but it ultimately means nothing if you can't hear what I'm talking about.
 
Billy you sure don't ask easy questions. :D

I'd say generally solid state is quieter but tubes IMHO have the ability to throw an almost holographic image where solid state can sound flatter, more 2-dimensional. A very hard thing to describe well but once heard makes sense.

I use both SS and tubes, mixing tube preamps and power amps together or with SS preamps or power amps all depending on what sound I'm looking for.

One great thing about tube gear is the ability to change or roll tubes to tailor the sound. Much like changing cartridges on a turntable rolling tubes often makes like audible changes.

Dave/ChairSpud
 
You cannot make such generalizations, and can only judge each unit independently. There is excellent tube and solid state gear that is quiet, throws a bit soundstage, etc. There differences in quality between each unit can far outweigh whether or not the unit is tube or solid state.
 
Billy since you said feel free to chime in. A few more generalizations I wanted to add. :D

Generally speaking tube gear has been less reliable than solid state and often generates more heat so placement can become an issue.

And generally speaking...oh I forgot the last one right now. :scratch2:

Dave/ChairSpud
 
Here's a post I made in another thread, just a few down from this one, earlier today:


Jeffery said:
It just kills me when the choices are so polar: TUBES or SS

Here's a hint: Every tube amp doesn't sound like every other tube amp. Every SS am doesn't sound like every other SS amp. Every tube amp is not superior to every SS amp. Every SS amp is not superior to every tube amp.

But we go here time and time again.

I just bought a GE T-1000B in Barter Town. It's got tubes. Should I fully expect it to outperform every Mark Levinson or Jeff Rowland amp ever produced? If so, it could be the best $65 I ever spent. On the flip side, should I expect my Zenith AM/FM transistor radio to get trounced by a pair of Kronzilla monoblocks?

OK, how would my GE T-1000B stack up against a pair of Kronzilla monoblocks? They are both tube amps.

There are variations between different tube amps that are far greater than the variation between "tube amps" and "SS amps" when taken as distinct groups.

Would it be heresy to go from a Kronzilla to a GE T-1000B? More than likely. Would it be heresy to go from a Kronzilla to Zenith AM/FM transistor radio? Probably.

It's like saying I want to go from a car to a motorcycle. OK, my car is a Yugo with 125,000 miles on it, I want to go to a new Ducati Diavel. Which is better? Let's say you picked Ducati, so we infer that cycles are superior to cars. But what if my cycle is a Honda 50 and I want to move into a Mercedes AMG? Cycle still superior?

There will always be cycle guys and car guys, but every cycle is not superior to every car, and vice versa.
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ChairSpud said:
Generally speaking tube gear has been less reliable than solid state
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That is a most untrue statement, generally speaking, unless you're talking cheap chinese and eastern euro tube amps.

As for the question that started this conversation:
I would almost be tempted to categorize the OP's question as a troll type inquiry, based on past forum experiences. Questions like that inevitably result in flame wars. Not to mention that it is posed in a way that no meaningful suggestion could be given even if there were one. Thoroughly incomplete, like what types of music are you into, what's your primary front end WHAT KIND OF SPEAKERS do you have, how large is your room etc etc etc.................

Use Google, you will find millions of words spent debating, discussing, arguing and meaningfully comparing the two options.

As someone else pointed out, you can even do that here without even leaving the room.

And the question is in the absolutely wrong forum.

Good luck with your upgrade.

Thomas
 
Clean&Tight said:
That is a most untrue statement, generally speaking, unless you're talking cheap chinese and eastern euro tube amps.
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I would argue that it is true in pretty much every case. It's not necessary to replace those transistors as it is with tubes. You might call it routine maintenance, but it's still a functional performance and or reliability issue if you don't do it.

And yes, I do own a tube amp and pre so I'm not taking a shot from a purely SS fanboy standpoint.
 
whoaru99 said:
Except in the case of rain, when no cycle is superior to any car. ;)
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OK, given. If somebody comes over and pisses on my tube amps, his mode of transportation will be academic. Come to think of it, if he pisses on my SS amps, he'll have the same dilemma.
 
OK, given. If somebody comes over and pisses on my tube amps, his mode of transportation will be academic. Come to think of it, if he pisses on my SS amps, he'll have the same dilemma.
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It was supposed to be humor, just in case there is any question about it.
 
Clean&Tight said:
That is a most untrue statement, generally speaking, unless you're talking cheap chinese and eastern euro tube amps.

Thomas
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Is your experience with modern tube gear? Some of us are old enough to remember before solid state all home electronics was tube gear. I remember the repair guy coming out regularly to fix the television set cause the picture went crazy. And the trips to the drug store or Allied Radio Shack to test tubes on the radios too. Solid state was welcomed by many for the claims of improved reliability.

Dave/ChairSpud
 
PickyEars81 said:
Tube power amps need efficient speakers.
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Need? I disagree vehemently with this generalization. I'm currently (pun intended) running two sets of inefficient speakers with tube amps to my great satisfaction. 91 db sensitive speakers with 50wpc EL 34 amp and 87 db speakers wth a 10wpc EL 84 amp. Note that tubes are often the preferred amps for electrostats and those are hardly efficient.

Then you have the high power tube amps with well over 150 wpc by Conrad-Johnson, Audio Research, Atma-Sphere, McIntosh and others. Those sure don't need efficient speakers.

As for the OP; IMO&E there are both good and bad sounding amps of both types. Look for an amp you like regardless of type but if curious about tubes then certainly listen to them.
 
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Try Tubes!

ChairSpud said:
Billy you sure don't ask easy questions. :D

I'd say generally solid state is quieter but tubes IMHO have the ability to throw an almost holographic image where solid state can sound flatter, more 2-dimensional. A very hard thing to describe well but once heard makes sense.

Dave/ChairSpud
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I have owned a tube receiver (Fisher 500c) for about a year now. I totally agree with ChairSpud. The tubes delivered a 3D sound stage I've never heard before. Now, I'm not sure if it's the amp or the tubes. But when I played it for my sister, it was set up around my surround sound system (which was not on), and she checked the centre channel speaker of that system, thinking it was part of the sound (it was not).
At that moment I knew the 3D sound was not my imagination!
Solid state will likely be quieter, between tube "rush" and possible hum from a system that needs refurbishing. But then you can deal with that, and have fun "rolling" tubes, dialling in the sound you like. For me, I have Mullards in the pre-amp (phono) section and Telefunkens in the rest. Endless fun and just way more romantic than SS.
My two cents.
 
(OK, here come my group-saving Libra-traits to calmly-smooth things over by sidestepping the conversation...)

Being a guitarist, I understand the benefits of tube-powered amps. There's a warmth to tube power, but you also tend to get better projection and dispersion (unless you're playing a Mesa-boogie, in which case the sound is beamy as hell and just shoots a beam straight across the room to the bartender's eardrums), as well as better punch and bottom-end. And there's a smoothness and sweetness to the sound that you don't hear with most solid-state amps (Keep in mind, I'm still just talking about guitar amps here... ). When it comes to playing blues, there's no beating a good old Fender tube amp, but it probably-isn't gonna' cut it if you're onstage with some Pantera cover-band. For that, you really-need the quick transient-response/low-overhang performance of a solid-state Randall half-stack (or even a full-stack with two cabs instead of one). Both are excellent for certain things, and that's how it is with tube vs solid-state. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Now, I've heard both solid-state and tube home-audio gear, and they both have their strengths and weaknesses
 
Gang-Twanger said:
There's a warmth to tube power, but you also tend to get better projection and dispersion (unless you're playing a Mesa-boogie, in which case the sound is beamy as hell and just shoots a beam straight across the room to the bartender's eardrums),
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By what means does an amplifier affect the dispersion of a loudspeaker?
 
Tom Brennan said:
Need? I disagree vehemently with this generalization. I'm currently (pun intended) running two sets of inefficient speakers with tube amps to my great satisfaction. 91 db sensitive speakers with 50wpc EL 34 amp and 87 db speakers wth a 10wpc EL 84 amp. Note that tubes are often the preferred amps for electrostats and those are hardly efficient.

Then you have the high power tube amps with well over 150 wpc by Conrad-Johnson, Audio Research, Atma-Sphere, McIntosh and others. Those sure don't need efficient speakers.

As for the OP; IMO&E there are both good and bad sounding amps of both types. Look for an amp you like regardless of type but if curious about tubes then certainly listen to them.
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Exceptions to all "rules." Given context, I think it was good advice...
 
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