gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, What a can of worms that opens (about tube amps). Much of what you said was true in the past. The newer designs are very different. The issue with square waves is to some extent still true as virtually all tube amps use output transformers. However the linearity on more common musical signals is quite excellent. I can easily get response within 0.1db from below 20HZ to as far up as I choose (usually about 40-50K HZ). Distortion at normal levels is well below 1% (often in the 0.1% and lower range)and hum and noise at about -85-95 db. That is well below audible. Tube life in well designed gear is now a lot longer than most folks will ever need. The remaining issues are more a matter of preference. Tube and SS equipment sound different. There has been considerable discussion for years as why and which is better. Much of which I consider irrelevant. One thing for sure, if tube equipment was inferior, then all the mega dollar stuff would not exist. I own a lot of premium SS gear and tube gear. My preference is for the tube sound. To be fair I may be a bit prejudiced as I design high performance tube equipment. You really owe it to yourself to seek out a quality hi-fi store and listen to some of the newer tube gear. You may well be surprised at the sound.
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