solid-state or tube amplifier ?

[hifimaddy]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

 

[yogibear]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

A nice tube preamp can transform your setup for sure.

However be wary with choosing a tube amp. You must first study your speakers impedance plot which will give you an idea of what power you should be looking in a tube amp. Until 9 watts, SE would suffice and above it push pull is the answer.

Further whether it’s tube preamp or tube amp, avoid hybrid designs else you will be left with more to desire. And my personal advice is to stay away with large tubes. They run very hot, require AC expenses during summers and run on lethal voltages, consume substantial power as well. ( Unless you are fine with all these plus very high electricity and maintenance costs - tubes replacements).

Of course, a well matched tube amp will play all genres and leave nothing to be desired and a tube preamp has no hassles playing any genre. It’s a preamp afterall. (But never spend money or time on tube buffers)

 

[hifimaddy]

A nice tube preamp can transform your setup for sure.

However be wary with choosing a tube amp. You must first study your speakers impedance plot which will give you an idea of what power you should be looking in a tube amp. Until 9 watts, SE would suffice and above it push pull is the answer.

Further whether it’s tube preamp or tube amp, avoid hybrid designs else you will be left with more to desire. And my personal advice is to stay away with large tubes. They run very hot, require AC expenses during summers and run on lethal voltages, consume substantial power as well. ( Unless you are fine with all these plus very high electricity and maintenance costs - tubes replacements).

Of course, a well matched tube amp will play all genres and leave nothing to be desired and a tube preamp has no hassles playing any genre. It’s a preamp afterall. (But never spend money or time on tube buffers)

Thanks for your explanation. First in my mind, I also thought about the tube preamp. Then, after a lot of research and watching YouTube, I became very fascinated by tube amps, which I also considered a piece of art for my room decor. Yes, it's very expensive to maintain, and it's also expensive to own a good one.

1. Dynaco ST 70 Mark 2
2. Synthesis Roma 96

These two were on my mind if I wanted to buy one. It's a little bit expensive for my budget, but I will consider it. After your comments, maybe I will consider only tube preamps.

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

Hi Vishnu,

I am from TVM and I have an Acoustic Portrait Swara Tube Preamp paired with O&B.
You can come in for a listen, if you’re interested.

Thanks,
Sreejith

 

[hifimaddy]

Hi Vishnu,

I am from TVM and I have an Acoustic Portrait Swara Tube Preamp paired with O&B.
You can come in for a listen, if you’re interested.

Thanks,
Sreejith

Thank you. I sent you a PM.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

Hi vishnu

Just checked up the specs on the focal's, and they seem to be an alright load for a tube amp. Since their minimum impedance is 4.6 ohms as qouted, you can connect them to the 4 ohm outputs on a tube amp. As long as you choose a EL34 or KT tubed amp, it will be fine. Just dont try low powered amps like 300B etc with these. All the best

 

[hifimaddy]

Hi vishnu

Just checked up the specs on the focal's, and they seem to be an alright load for a tube amp. Since their minimum impedance is 4.6 ohms as qouted, you can connect them to the 4 ohm outputs on a tube amp. As long as you choose a EL34 or KT tubed amp, it will be fine. Just dont try low powered amps like 300B etc with these. All the best

Thank you. Yes, I am checking on this, but I am not planning to purchase soon. If I can audition some or explore some more amps, then I will only make a purchase. Meanwhile, I am upgrading some other small things in my chain.

 

[adas]

Hi Vishnu,

I am from TVM and I have an Acoustic Portrait Swara Tube Preamp paired with O&B.
You can come in for a listen, if you’re interested.

Thanks,
Sreejith

Hi Vishnu ji , please go have a listen at Sreejith Ji place he has a very similar SS2150 as yours .


Regards
Aniket Das

 

[hifimaddy]

Hi Vishnu ji , please go have a listen at Sreejith Ji place he has a very similar SS2150 as yours .


Regards
Aniket Das

Sure aniket . I messaged him already

 

[reignofchaos]

Where are you located? I have @adas 's monoblocks, a very nice Conrad Johnson tube power amp and very soon might have a very high end tube-mosfet hybrid. If you come to Bangalore, you are most welcome to drop by.

 

[yogibear]

Never hookup on 4 ohms tap unless it sounds unacceptable on 8 ohms tap, which is very unlikely unless the speakers dip below 4 ohms.

One must use full core of the output transformer for maximum fidelity.

 

[sunilj]

Whatever you read, demo it before you buy. There's a lot going with tube amps w.r.t the transformers, the mode they run (Triode, Ultra-Linear & Pentode) and the valves themselves.

It makes no sense to buy something based on opinion, whether it is large or small tubes, whether it is hybrid or otherwise and so on.

Your ears, your space, your speakers....is your scene.

 

[AP@1992]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

Hey

After years and years of using solid state, I gradually converted to using tube amps and have never looked back.

I will give you my two cents

Tube amplifiers at first are very confusing, design wise and at the 'reasonable budget category' they broadly fall into the following classes

a) SET Class with no NF and

B) Push pull designs. (There exists various other designs which I am not traversing at the moment for brevity sake)

A SET Class A with no negative feedback is sonically superior but Push-pull is more practical since at reasonable budget, Push Pull designs give you more power. If your speaker are highly sensitive (read minimum 90db or more) and the impedance plot is not crazy, please go for a SET Class A No negative feedback design else stick to Push-pull design. Ofcourse SET Class A are available at higher wattage , but they will be very very expensive.

Now comes the tube rolling,

Most low powered tubes 2A3, 300B and to some extent EL34 will have smother sound, a natural and warm tone. They will emphasize the mid-range and with right songs, they will sound very very nice almost awe inspiring. Similarly, KT tubes etc will be desirable if base and high power requirement are needed.

Similar to the effect power tubes will have, pre amp tubes will also have their sonic signature and they will effect the sound in a meaningful way.

So, tube amplifier has a lot of more variable and moving parts and requires the right permutations and combinations to sound good in a given set up. The good part is they will give you the flexibility to sonically adjust the sound signature going forward. For first tube amp, go for an amp which gives with you through option of installing various types of tubes

But once done right, IMO, a tube amplifier really excels and in most subjective parameters outperforms a SS amp at similar price category.


Lastly, Tube amps are a costly affair, involves a lot of care and patience and if you get hooked, there is no going back.

Enjoy.

 

[somdas823]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

After years of searching this answer & reviewing tons of setup, i have reached 1 conclusion for myself
Tube pre + SS power is the most versatile setup.
Now, getting an optimal match as per the preference & budget is where all the investment of time & money should be focused on.

 

[Nitin K]

After years of searching this answer & reviewing tons of setup, i have reached 1 conclusion for myself
Tube pre + SS power is the most versatile setup.
Now, getting an optimal match as per the preference & budget is where all the investment of time & money should be focused on.

You can try researching on Unison Research, Rogue Audio and Vincent amps which have a tube pre and ss power stage. All of the above are hybrid as per your requirements. I am sure there may be many others too.

 

[yogibear]

Tube preamps are a hit or miss…. Excellent tube preamps are as expensive or more than tube amps….

However a right tube preamp can do magic with any nice SS amp.

Most desirable tube preamps are DHT and they pair well with a tube or SS amp.

 

[Shammi Dang]

Recently, I heard about a tube amplifier system, and I liked it a lot after seeing a lot of YouTube videos. I am interested in tube amplifers.

In my current setup, my solid-state amplifier is powerful enough to drive focals 906, and I am very satisfied with the setup. Does adding a tube preamp or power amp make any difference? I can't borrow a tube amp from someone to check if I like it or not. So I am asking you guys about your experience with tube amps. What could you guys suggest as a tube pre-amp or power amp? Is it good for all kinds of music?

I have some tube amplifiers in mind, but there is not a lot of difference from a solid state; I don't consider it. I know a lot of FMS are using tubes; it will be helpful to know the characteristics of tubes, which I have never used before.

thanks
vishnu

I will not give a reply on the choice you can make. Even I am new to the tube preamp world. Yesterday I posted a review on Acoustic portrait tube buffer. Just read for your knowledge. You might get some points out of it.

S

Thread 'Acoustic portrait Swara Tube buffer V2 (A review)'

Aug 31, 2024

A review after more than a month of usage - This is my first Acoustic portrait product. I purchased this on total risk as there were no reviews (video or written) available anywhere. I am very satisfied with this tube buffer. It adds warmth to the vocals and music. Very nice to hear such depth and wide soundstage. No listening fatigue. Very appropriate for listening to classical (Indian, western), pop, vocals, hindi songs & gazals. The slight harness that we feel sometimes while using our regular transistor based amplifier is not there any more. Excellent built quality, Good fit & finish...

• Shammi Dang

• 

 

[square_wave]

I have used both in my system. If your speakers are designed to work well with low power tube amps, then I would always choose tubes over solid state. If your speakers need some extra power to sing well and sound balanced, unless you spend a lot on well designed and usually very heavy tube amps, the sound can get quite unbalanced although the mids may sound nice at the expense of loose bass and splashy highs. When you are in this kinda situation, unless your budget is high, staying with solid state is a better bet. This is an electrical reality.

 

[premoddev]

I have used a cheap chinese pre amp with Ge tubes for my JeanHiraga Class A power amp all these days. It was doing very good and I was in the belief that this is the kinda sound my power amp produce. But very recently I bought one passive preamp "Schiit SYS" from one of our FM. The moment I powered on my system with this passive pre instead of the chinese tube pre, I am hearing a different sound signature altogether. I am completely agreeing what @square_wave has mentioned above on the loose bass and splashy highs of these inexpensive tube pre amps produces. After changing to passive pre, bass got more tighter and the highs more revealed in a better way. Downside is I am missing the gain the active preamp provided before and now I have to move the volume pot more to get the desired volume level, but that's expected on passive preamps.

 

[reubensm]

@hifimaddy, kindly share some light on Rowen Swiss Edition with reference to your NAD C320BEE amplifier (used as a preamplifier)