Quote:
Originally Posted by LotusExcelle
I know this subject is not 100% on topic but I've read plenty of material that suggests tube amp sound is considerably different that transistor and that most people that know what to listen for *can* tell the difference. Now I realize this doesn't cover general public or the "chain" of audio quality (speakers, the VERY important room setup, etc) but it relates somewhat here in that the general public also can't tell the difference between an MP3 and a raw recording - but I think there are plenty of people around that *can* and prefer raw recordings.
I know that's not apples to apples but I think the comparison applies.
I certainly won't claim that most people would know the difference. But the few that do tend to prefer either tube amps or really absurdly high-end transistor amps ala Meridian and the like.
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I know someone with especially fine hearing. He's got a private audio company, designs amps (also repairs and modifies stuff. He built his own active speaker system using 6 Magnepans. six.). Tube, transistor, hybrid, Ucd, class D if you like, he designs and builds it all.
He can build a tube amp that sounds "tubeish". Very tubeish if you wish. He can also build one that sounds just like a transistor amp. It's all how you design it. If you like "tube sound", a tube amp can give you that sound. If you don't like "tube sound" you can still choose between a tube amp and transistor amp, or even a hybrid, as a tube amp doesn't need to have that tube sound. He's very good at hearing what he calls "sharp edges" in sound, and he tries to design them out. When that happens, tube and transistor start to sound very alike, as they're both amplifying very neutral at this point. And these amps don't even need to be extremely expensive. With todays components and design techniques, a very neutral amplifier using tubes or transistors can be built for a few hundred euro/dollar. A high power tube amp will cost a lot of money as you'll need quite some power tubes to get some watts out of it. With the going price of say a KT88 tube, that adds up. High power transistor amps also cost quite some money, but for the 100W+ range, they tend to be quite a bit cheaper (erm, less expensive
) than tube amps.
btw that guy does hear the difference between mp3 and uncompressed sources
.
I'm thinking of just using his hybrid design amp full-range, and letting the Marantz 170DC out of the chain. The hybrid simply is better, also in the lows
.
Keep up the good work Maksutov!