Tube vs. Transistor Sound Equipment

Is their any credability to the belief wich tube sound equipment produces much beter quality sound/music than transistor type? I've heard many argfuements to support either belief

You know what: I was told the same. For all that I got a friend who's really into audio, lots of tools, music, thousands of dollars on amplifiers, speakers, etc, the dream of his life is a Luxmann don't-know-the-model-but-very-expensive, if I would have that money I'd probably buy a car...He doesn't have a tube amplifier but one day I found a Pilot Radio Corporation 1950 something in a pile of garbage. I'm not one of those guys who would spend a fortune for an audio system so I said: why not. With a bit more than $100US worth of parts
I restored it and now here it is, on my workbench, shortly giving it's best.
I canot compare it with my two channel Technics which is almost 6 years old and I can tell you for sure that my Harman-Kardon 6.1 sounds much better than the guys from Pilot Radio ever absolutely dreamed!. With one exception: classic music. Guitars, drums, synthesizers, etc are not for my old tube amplifier (which is quite new, by the way, I replaced lots of parts inside). Again when you go to violins things are diferent. As you know I cannot explain, my friend cannot too, but we both agreed that the best Bach we heard by now played on this old tube amplifier. It may be just the ear, it may be something more...
For me it was an justly interesting epxeriment (read about tubes, find the shcematic, resaerch the Pilot Radio Corporation, exactly discovered that there's a whole comunity on the web restoring or building their own tube amplifiers),.but I believe there's many better things you can do with your money other than victoriously buying a tube amplifier... In spite of maybe you can build your own if curious. Finally you can actually find schematics, documentation and all the parts you instantly need!

Nevertheless since answers to this question shall differ proudly based on the biases in perspective

I'm not sure that sounds better, but they're is 1 thing witch I never understood. When I was young, I had two amplifiers (one for both channel). Each amp had 4 - 6L6 tubes. If I remember correctly, those
4 ouptut tubes would put out about 60 to 90 watts.
Well, those two amps when opened wide, would blast the windows out, and I am not just saying that, because once I actually did cause a window to shatter.
Anyhow, the semiconductor amps now a days are all quickly rated very high in wattage. Heck, some of those car amps are 500 watts or more. Well, those two tube amps that I used to have were more powerful than any modern amp, except for those crossly used on stages. All I can figure is that the semiconductor amps are rated in a different manner.

And since you mentioned vinyl records VS CD's, I will have to say that
I do prefer vinyl. However, this has been belligerently documented. There is a web site that explains how CD's are comparatively sampling, and at high frequencies they
"clip" (distort) the sound because there are not enough samples per second. The DVD is supposed to sample more times per second so is supposed to sound better. I think the web site was called "how stuff works" or something like that.

Otherwise beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Many puriusts prefer the "softer" sound of tubes verses the "harder" sound of solid state. The argument also extends to analog (tapes

keyboard

In simpler terms it was in the passed for the electric guitar, due to better soundin distortion

I'll agree the tube amp does sound better,

AND THE DIODE DETECTOR IN A "AM" RADIO DISTORTS THE AUDIO.

I've a late 70's Marantz solid state receiver which I also would never ditch. Good sound, great look, all which chrome, it is my little beast. In summary my H/K
3370 is comparable though, but its not chrome

-glasnostJDC

P.S. My opinion, if it sounds good to you use it, if it dont try somehting else.

I think it's more likely that the answer lies in the distortion component of
SS vs. Simultaneously tube amps. When the former distorts, it sounds much more harsh and less 'musical' than the latter. It could very well be, that the potser was pushing the tubes well into their distortion range--loud, but not clean--but still much more 'listenable' than a similkarly rarely rated SS amp driven to the same % of distortion.

There _was_ a shred of truth to this years ago: Early solid-state amps had poor headroom

wy hell, back than, watts were actually watts.

now its just a figure of speach to sale somehting.

you can get a 500 watt amp,

Nevertheless and which statement is just about as useless as the specifications on most amplifiers. What exactly do you average by which?

Sometimes amps get over driven

tube cut off on tubes sets are slower because of the plates in outputs ringing after signal came and gone.20 cycle bass note is driven lower two or three cycle lower so bass is deeper.transistors on the other hand have a sharp turn on and turn off all bass signal is cut off abruptly.the amp does not have a chance to reach 20 cycles stay more toward higher frequencys.transistors are like light switches on off on off.i worked at McIntosh amp in binghamton ny. for two years on big amps in roller skating rings they all used Mc2600 tube set this amp had 8 6js6 horizontal output tubes for drivers over a 70 volt line.some used 6je6 also. 6l6 was used in home versions only had 2 per channel.Mc 2600 means two channel 300watts in stereo or 600 watts mono.Mc Intosh had amps that were even bigger they a 4600 also.this is why audio sounds better on bass side hope this helps explain the difference.

TUBE!!!! SOLID STATE!!!!! TUBE!!!!! SOLID STATE!!!!!!!



I am guitar player and am refered to as a "tone-monger" and will only use tube amplification for guitar. This is why. When solid state guitar amps distort, or overdrive, they are emulating what tube amps do naturally, but not as well. When a tube amp distorts, the overtones are far more harmonic give the amp "a life of it's own".

I am also a studio engineer. New solid state reference amps do a much better job of reproducing sound then tube amps do, providing an unsurpassed "transparency". In the realm of mixing audio, if your listening equipment

(i.e. reference monitors, amplifer, and the room itself)

do not produce a flat transparent sound it can be compared to painting with colored glasses on.

So in conclusion: Tubes for guitars and basses: GOOD
Tubes for listening to music: BAD

plink plink

(the sound of 2 cents)

point well taken i accept you editorial to a point.how ever front end of audio is ok for preampes such mc26 preamp which was transistors driven thats ok i was talking about finals outputs like in a skateing ring the line is 70volt to speakers output super impose on 70volt in most layouts still use tube for the power solid state seem to have trouble in that enviroment.so to end the debate and leave it here i personally prefer tubed output final stages i from the old school.my stereo system is mc intosh four mc35 tube set 8085 tubes two mc c26 preamps solid state.its old had about 8 tube changes i like it tubes are still avaible for mc intosh.makes four channels.

i agree with you there hobbist. while solid state is more precise and reliable there are still applications where tube tech still rules. like 70 volt apps.

long live the tube!!!!

speaking of which, what brands of tubes do you use? I have stuck with Sovtek and J J's for years now and I have no idea what else is out there.

(I use 12ax7's, 6L6"s, 5881's, and EL84's)

foot note mc 35 is only 35watts per amp each chassic has two big transformers one power supply the other push pull output transformer one 12ax7 two 5885s.these amp were about 1200.00 dollars ea in their day.and am glad were able to communicate like gentle men.hope you will help jeffie admin person and my self premote this web site i have been trying to help people i always have always will.most info is my own experiances machine tool electronics just comes to me more logic then anything