Vac tube vs. transistor amp. Thoughts?

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Recently my GF and I decided we want to upgrade our stereo system.
It's mainly connected to the home PC to spotify etc.
We also use it to watch movies etc.

I've been researching a couple of options. I like the look and appeal of a tube amp, but I've never owned one nor heard one.
Are they really worth the additional upkeep (replacing tubes every year or two) etc?

The two setups I'm considering are listed below.
Thanks for any info/advice!

Transistor setup

Tube amp setup
 
If your concerned about sound quality, the speakers matter more than valve vs transistor amp. A valve amp needs good tubes to be worth it.
The products in those links leave little to be desired.
Using a valve amp to play compressed music is about as dumb as using a generator to power an electric chainsaw.

If you are playing a guitar a valve amp can be a great choice however. I'd get the transistor amp for reliability and the fact it will probably sound better.
 
I have both types and the tube amp produces a desirable sound quality which is not present with solid state.
 
Tubes would be much better quality. They don't make tubes like they used to, but if you buy NOS tubes from the 50s or 60s, they'll last practically forever and produce great sound. They aren't cheap but they can be had. Newer tubes cost less, would have to be changed more often, and you can get them with good sound. They just don't last like the old ones. It's not like changing oil, where you set a specified time and change them. Find a good vendor and give a call to discuss your needs. I've used this guy with great results for my guitar amps, but there are others out there.

Clicky

Edit: I posted this before I looked at your link. Not familiar with those tubes and they don't appear to be available from that vendor.
 
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What's the budge??? It's all about synergy

Ok see items posted for use never mind
 
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Tube amps are cool... but that's not a tube amp.

That's a cheap Chinese solid state amplifier meant to capitalize on people who say things like "tube for the win" (there are four in this thread alone) without knowing a darn thing about how valve amplifiers work because they read an article online about how old stereo equipment is better than new stereo equipment.

That particular "hybrid tube" amplifier, sold all over Amazon, eBay, Monoprice, etc. under various names, is well documented as being a fraud: http://members.iinet.net.au/~cool386/jaycar/jaycar.html

At best, you could call it a solid state amp with a tube preamp (except not all the preamp stage is tube), but simply looking at it shows the entire thing is an exercise in deception. From the outside, it has two preamp tubes, two power amp tubes, and a big black box covering what we're to supposed to believe are output transformers.

Those power amp tubes do nothing, one of those preamp tubes does nothing, and there is no high voltage transformer at all. You can literally remove three of the four tubes and it works fine. To top it off, from the link above, the manufacturer is running the heaters at too high a voltage to make them glow brighter.

It's a solid state amplifier with a pretty night light.
 
That is a piece of garbage. Both are.

Get vintage gear or Uncle Joe's old, unused Nakamichi Receiver 2 from the 90's.

Find an audiophile friend and get some guidance.

Wharfedale diamond 10.1 and some stands and a used Mike Creek integrated would be a good start.

If you want to try tubes ( not recommended at your stage) a rebuilt vintage 12 watt EL84 class B unit would be a good start.
 
Originally Posted by MrHorspwer
Tube amps are cool... but that's not a tube amp.

That's a cheap Chinese solid state amplifier meant to capitalize on people who say things like "tube for the win" (there are four in this thread alone) without knowing a darn thing about how valve amplifiers work because they read an article online about how old stereo equipment is better than new stereo equipment.

That particular "hybrid tube" amplifier, sold all over Amazon, eBay, Monoprice, etc. under various names, is well documented as being a fraud: http://members.iinet.net.au/~cool386/jaycar/jaycar.html

At best, you could call it a solid state amp with a tube preamp (except not all the preamp stage is tube), but simply looking at it shows the entire thing is an exercise in deception. From the outside, it has two preamp tubes, two power amp tubes, and a big black box covering what we're to supposed to believe are output transformers.

Those power amp tubes do nothing, one of those preamp tubes does nothing, and there is no high voltage transformer at all. You can literally remove three of the four tubes and it works fine. To top it off, from the link above, the manufacturer is running the heaters at too high a voltage to make them glow brighter.

It's a solid state amplifier with a pretty night light.


Agreed. It's no McIntosh, but it's cheap, looks cool, and might sound pretty good.

I just installed a stupid little $30 F900 amp in my gym to some JVC speakers I had from years ago to stream and the sound is very good. Shockingly good for the price.
 
Considering my audio source is my PC, I don't imagine (even with the best tube amp) that the investment would be worthwhile.
 
You want better sound but seeing as your source is your PC then I agree with you. Buy something cheap and Chinese like you highlighted. Your best investment would be super efficient speakers being driven by those low power amps. That is what I would investigate. Something that will yield mid 90's or higher db with 1 watt at 1 meter. This will probably push you toward horns and they can be somewhat bright and honky.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Considering my audio source is my PC, I don't imagine (even with the best tube amp) that the investment would be worthwhile.



As somebody else noted, pushing digital audio through a tube amp doesn't make any sense, and that's beside the point that MrHorspwer made in his excellent post, that the unit you linked isn't a tube amp.

How much money are you looking to spend here? What's the quality of the source material? You can spend thousands of dollars in a blink of an eye on this stuff. My B&W 802's are currently at a friend's house (we have music nights) hooked up to his huge monoblock tube amps (real ones) because he wanted to hear the "Abbey Road" speakers compared to his custom ones. He has a very nice tube pre-amp and a high-end turntable with custom tone arm. His setup is WAY more expensive than mine and it's 100% analog, hence the tube gear. For digital music, he uses a Bryston transistor amp, like I do.

The other question here is what medium are you using to connect the computer to the stereo? You can do RCA's, where the computer is doing the D/A bit (usually not ideal), Toslink or digital RCA into the stereo or into a dedicated DAC, which I assume isn't the case here. From the systems you linked, and their price, it appears you aren't trying to blow the bank, so perhaps something nice and likely used from AudioMart could get you into some better gear than you otherwise would have bought. I'm a huge fan of Bryston, as they are local, but they are also insanely expensive, even for their used gear.

If you are looking for bookshelf speakers, these would be an excellent choice:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649540006-paradigm-micro-v2-bookshelf-speakers/

Or, if towers fit the bill, these Paradigm ones are well priced:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649541070-paradigm-90p-v1/

This Rotel amplifier would be a great choice to power them:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649542244-rotel-rb-870-with-upgraded-binding-posts/

And for a DAC/Preamp, again, not sure of the budget, this Cambridge piece is quite nice:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649530359-cambridge-audio-dacmagic-plus-black-new-open-box/

As is this Emotiva DAC/Preamp, for less money:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649541309-emotiva-xda-2-dac/
 
Interesting gear in your links.

When I think of tube gear, I think of old Dynaco monoblocks or perhaps an early 60s Fisher 500 series receiver/amplifier. The latest round of Chinese imports may work, but chances are they won't work well. Most are powered by a step down wall wart that only feeds about 9V AC to the tubes. That's barely enough voltage to tickle them.

Tube equipment requires a healthy amount of electrical power to function properly, which is why most older tube gear weighs a ton -- there's usually a robust (and heavy) transformer in the power supply to manage the voltage needed.

Tubes yes, absolutely...but you probably need to be looking at older hi fi equipment, not the latest thing off the boat from overseas.
 
Electrical engineer here (As a usual entry into the Tube vs SS wars that startup on audio forums soon the be booed by the "my golden ears are better than any equipment ever invented"

Short answer is NO don't bother with tube amps for that application. SS amps will be higher power output, higher reliability, lower cost, generate substantially less heat and have excellent sound quality for the typical person.

The purpose of an amplifier is the receive a small voltage signal from the source (PC sound card, MP3 player, Record player, CD, DVD etc.) and output a higher voltage and current version of that signal that is a direct multiple of that signal. The amplifier should not add any "sound or tone" to the signal at all. It should only make it louder. The speakers job is by far the most difficult to take in an electrical signal and output an acoustic pressure wave that reproduces for the ear what was originally recorded on the CD. Lots of physics in loudspeaker movements and design.

It is very cheap and easy to make an amplifier with excellent specifications and 100W CONTINUOUS output power. Even low cost amplifiers have very low distortion specifications that you can believe. now the wattage figures are another story. Unless you are trying to throw a block party or recreate the THX experience in a home theater. 50W continuous (aka RMS but not technically accurate) per channel is plenty. for reference most factory car stereos are 15 watts/channel (continuous) you can ignore "PEAK" power rating as they are marketing watts and dont matter.

Heres the thing with watts and loudness. To double the perceived loudness, you need 10X the power (and speakers that can handle it). So if you are used to listening to a 5 watt amp and want twice as much loudness you need 50 watts. To double it again you need 500 watts!! Doubling from 50 watts to 100 watts is a noticeable increase in loudness but nearly a doubling. This is why anything over 100watts/channel is abit silly. 80 vs 100 vs 120 watts is for all practical purposes the same loudness level achieved. I have an 80 watt continuous X 2 home amp and threw many parties in college with it not even at full volume.

With all that, I would say pick and decent SS amp and match it with good speakers and you should be fine.
 
Originally Posted by Win
Both are junk.

Class B, whether solid state or vacuum tube, is not Hi Fi, imo.


Everyone who has heard my Daystrom Heathkit AA-151 thought it was gorgeous sounding.

In the parlance of the day, class A/B Push-Pull was just called class B

a look under the hood:

[Linked Image]
 
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Lolvoguy

Look for one of these Creek 4040S3 integrated amps used and working It is a sweet little amp that will split the difference between a tube and transistor sound.

If you really want one of those digital USB computer devices I have a like new Kanto Yaro2 Digital Integrated Amp with remote that I would sell for cheap. see it here:

https://www.newegg.com/kanto-yaro2-amp/p/0S6-00H5-00096

PM Me.

Creek 4040S3 inside:
[Linked Image]
 
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