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Tube Amp And Solid State Amp Comparison


J.L.

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I'd just like to add that not all tube types sound the same and many solid state amplifiers have different sound signatures or "voices" to them. I personally like the EL-84 based tube products like the Jolida 102CRC or the Carver VTA-20 with my Klipsch speakers. Both EL-34 integrated amps I had were very loose in the bottom end and the midrange was way over-stated for my taste.

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Just copied and pasted jjptkd's mentioning of the Jolida 102CRC to Amazon. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before on the forums, but all sound quality benefits aside, these freakin' tube amps look so dang COOL!!!!!!!!!!

There, I said it!!!!!!!!!!

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The Jolida 102b? (older non remote model) was my first venture into tubes. I found it local on Craigslist for $300 and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor as it sounded so freakin' sweet! I was running Chorus II's with Crites crossovers and titanium tweeters and the sound was just perfect. My only complaint was it just wasn't loud enough for me when I really wanted to shake things up. For normal listening (about 90% of the time) it played plenty loud, just not wake the dead loud like when I have friends over and the beer is flowing. :emotion-22:

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I get pretty excited about the potential of buying a tube amp, but will be such a departure from what I've had since my younger days.

Would this great sound be able to be achieved just by plugging my CD player into the tube amp and then out to my KG 5.5's?? Or would other "add on equipment" be required also??

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I get pretty excited about the potential of buying a tube amp, but will be such a departure from what I've had since my younger days.

Would this great sound be able to be achieved just by plugging my CD player into the tube amp and then out to my KG 5.5's?? Or would other "add on equipment" be required also??

Do it, you'll like it, a lot!

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these freakin' tube amps look so dang COOL!!!!!!!!!! There, I said it!!!!!!!!!!
Well, if you're in it for the looks. :ph34r:

As far as Youtube comparisons, all of my sound-related videos (except for the one of the Saturn Ion) were shot using either an Equibit or Tripath amp. I've received many positive comments regarding their apparent sound quality over the years.

Also, I'd highly recommend searching for some of the more recent posts by Artto.

Keep in mind, as others have stated, SS today covers an extremely wide gamut of topologies from pure crap to sonic nirvana. There's no such thing as simply pointing a finger to imply one design is representative of the entire lot.

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In my man cave, my 2 ch setup, it is pure tube, in the HT, it is 100% SS.

To ME, the tubes are, fuller, more well rounded while the SS is very good it just lacks, ... something, a richness I guess. The HT is a Yamaha AVR running as a pre/pro and powering the center and rears while sides are powered by a Fort'e 3 SS amp and a Yamaha M80 amp driving the rears. Both are class A / AB but due to my Klipsch speakers effeciency the amps pretty much stay in class A.

Sure I could live happily with SS only because I have pretty good amps but I do enjoy the tubes a wee bit more I must say. YMMV!

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In my man cave, my 2 ch setup, it is pure tube, in the HT, it is 100% SS.

To ME, the tubes are, fuller, more well rounded while the SS is very good it just lacks, ... something, a richness I guess. The HT is a Yamaha AVR running as a pre/pro and powering the center and rears while sides are powered by a Fort'e 3 SS amp and a Yamaha M80 amp driving the rears. Both are class A / AB but due to my Klipsch speakers effeciency the amps pretty much stay in class A.

Sure I could live happily with SS only because I have pretty good amps but I do enjoy the tubes a wee bit more I must say. YMMV!

Cal great post!

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One thing seems pretty clear - not all tube amps are created equal. I tried one that I picked up fairly cheap on ebay several years ago and it was poorly made and sounded worse. On the other hand, I listened to an excellent tube integrated at a local dealer last week that I would buy in a heartbeat if it didn't cost $3600. Oh well. The same types of differences in sound quality also exist in the ss arena. There's a lot to be said for auditioning equipment (to say nothing of staying within a reasonable budget)! Generalizations about tubes or ss don't seem to be very meaningful any more, at least to me.

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Would it be pointless hooking up a two channel tube amp to an AVR to just run the front mains, yet still include it with multi channel listening? I understand a tube pre would be much better, but hey, I like my remote and I am not setting up two listening areas.

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One thing seems pretty clear - not all tube amps are created equal. I tried one that I picked up fairly cheap on ebay several years ago and it was poorly made and sounded worse. On the other hand, I listened to an excellent tube integrated at a local dealer last week that I would buy in a heartbeat if it didn't cost $3600. Oh well. The same types of differences in sound quality also exist in the ss arena. There's a lot to be said for auditioning equipment (to say nothing of staying within a reasonable budget)! Generalizations about tubes or ss don't seem to be very meaningful any more, at least to me.

Here let me edit your post....

"One thing seems pretty clear - not all SS amps are created equal. I tried one that I picked up fairly cheap on ebay several years ago and it was poorly made and sounded worse. On the other hand, I listened to an excellent SS integrated at a local dealer last week that I would buy in a heartbeat if it didn't cost $3600. Oh well. The same types of differences in sound quality also exist in the tube arena. There's a lot to be said for auditioning equipment (to say nothing of staying within a reasonable budget)! Generalizations about tubes or ss don't seem to be very meaningful any more, at least to me."

No need to audition if you know how to weed through the crap posted and in reviews...

MY best advice to someone wanting any piece of audio gear that they can not audition....find something that has been in the field for a long time with "MANY" folks raving about it....then look and see how many are for sale. If something is truly as good as the folks raving about it you will not find them constantly for sale.

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No need to audition if you know how to weed through the crap posted and in reviews... MY best advice to someone wanting any piece of audio gear that they can not audition....find something that has been in the field for a long time with "MANY" folks raving about it....then look and see how many are for sale. If something is truly as good as the folks raving about it you will not find them constantly for sale.

Thanks. Those are probably fairly reliable indicators in a lot of cases.

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Even though I appreciate tube amps, for the last few days I've been enjoying the crap out of big, copious ss power, and it's AWESOME! I almost forgot what my old fortes are capable of. (They can pressurize the house to the point that the window panes flex, and do it with grace, no subs required. During this exercise in ridiculous extravagance, my girlfriend even quipped a reference to the old Klipsch ads about disturbing the neighbors since...she got the year wrong, but it didn't matter, it was a classic Klipsch moment. Life's good sometimes.)

Good to have both options.

Edited by Ski Bum
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Even though I appreciate tube amps, for the last few days I've been enjoying the crap out of big, copious ss power, and it's AWESOME! I almost forgot what my old fortes are capable of. (They can pressurize the house to the point that the window panes flex, and do it with grace, no subs required. During this exercise in ridiculous extravagance, my girlfriend even quipped a reference to the old Klipsch ads about disturbing the neighbors since...she got the year wrong, but it didn't matter, it was a classic Klipsch moment. Life's good sometimes.)

Good to have both options.

Get the right tube Amps and you can have both all wrapped up in one package:)

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