Portfolio Diversification, Tubes VS Solid State

[jjptkd]

I've ran several of each on my Chorus II's but have stuck with SS over the years. A few years back I picked up a little Jolida 102 tube integrated amp at 20 watts a channel and was really surprised at how good it sounded, almost like solid state with good bass and highs with just a bit more realistic sound to it than the SS amp I was running. Back in those days I would have people over almost every weekend and would really turn the volume up at times and the 20 watts while adequate for most listening just wasn't enough for really cranking up the tunes.

 

Kind of mystified by the Jolida but wanting a little more power I found a Melody SP-7? an EL-34 based amp at 45 watts per channel I believe? This was a totally different animal all together. The mids and soundstage were huge, larger than life with great depth and realism, almost hard to believe how good it sounded. Only draw back was the bass was actually pretty bad, very flabby without any punch and the highs seemed rolled off. It was a different sound with some really great qualities but at the end of the day I moved on.

 

Fast forward a bit and I had moved into an apartment that had great acoustics, little bookshelf speakers almost had too much bass and it didn't take very much volume at all to fill the room. I picked up another Jolida 102 and it was absolutely perfect for my Chorus II's, I could barely turn the volume up to 11 o'clock before getting complaints from the neighbors and man it sounded great. I only stayed there for a year before moving to my old house where I had a fairly large dedicated stereo room. I was excited to set up my speakers and show off what they can do to a friend of mine and that little Jolida that had treated me so well just fell on its face. That room turned out to be a nightmare and it seen numerous equipment changes before I really got back to good sound.

 

Right now I'm running RF-7's with 400 watts and these speakers really seem to soak up the power, not like my old Chorus II's that I use to joke around about being able to power them with a clock radio. So I guess in my limited experiences (I've had a few more tube products not mentioned) I'd have to conclude that just like most things stereo there are so many variables to consider like the model speakers you have, room acoustics and associated equipment, how loud you listen and type of music you listen to and of course personal taste. I've had great experiences with both and can see why one would choose one over the other in certain circumstances.

[tube fanatic]

Tubes are much better!  Carl, you can lock the thread now..............

 

 

Maynard

[Schu]

10 minutes ago, tube fanatic said:

Tubes are much better!  Carl, you can lock the thread now..............

 

 

Maynard

:thumbsup:

[thebes]

It's all about the music, man.

 

Here's what sounds best on Tubes:

 

Baroque

Opera

Classical Orchestral

Jazz

Most rock

Americana

Blues

Soul

R&B

Funk,

Most Punk

Easy Listening

Soft Rock

Go Go

Country

Folk

Bluegrass

Disco

Organ

Excessively long guitar solos

Excessively long drum solos

Big Band

New Wave

Soft Jazz

Comedy

Doowop

Polka

Dixieland

Bossa Nova

Flamenco

Any kind of Horn music

Gospel

 

Here's what sounds good on Solid State:

 

Heavy Metal

Hip Hop

Electronic

Emo

Trance

Some Punk

 

Need I say more?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[derrickdj1]

7 hours ago, tube fanatic said:

Tubes are much better!  Carl, you can lock the thread now..............

 

 

Maynard

Good one Maynard, lol.

 

7 hours ago, jjptkd said:

 

I've ran several of each on my Chorus II's but have stuck with SS over the years. A few years back I picked up a little Jolida 102 tube integrated amp at 20 watts a channel and was really surprised at how good it sounded, almost like solid state with good bass and highs with just a bit more realistic sound to it than the SS amp I was running.

 

A few years ago we had an area GTG.  I brought my hybird tube amp which was fine with my RF 7's.  We put it on a pair of Cornwall's and someone cracked the volume.  The hybird could not handle it.  I think it was the impedance load.  But, it was clear this was not an amp for the Cornwalls

 

Dr. Who said the major difference is related to the topology which is dead on.  Good amp of both camps exist.  The thread was not about which is the right way to go.  The thread was about maybe having both type of amps.  I stand by this ideal because there are things Iike about my SS and tube amp.  No, they are not the same thank goodness, there would be no point to having both.

 

My SS amp with subs is hands down better than my tube amp with bass heavy music.  The tube amp is better for critical listening: sparkling highs, detailed midrange, etc.  This is not saying the SS does not have this.  This may be due to the more pronounced bass which will cover some of the higher stfuff.  There is no way to increase bass without it having some effect on the midrange and Hi's.  You just can't have everything.  You can have a good balance between the three, midrange, bass and Hi's.

[jwc]

4 hours ago, thebes said:

Here's what sounds good on Solid State:

 

Heavy Metal

Hip Hop

Electronic

Emo

Trance

Some Punk

 

Need I say more?

No way man....

 

I crank loud Too $hort all the time on my tube system.  Got the Fat Bass.

[jimjimbo]

You should go fishing with Chief Bonehead for fat bass...

[mark1101]

It's the synergy baby.........between all your equipment.  That's what's most important.

 

I found s/s amps that sound like tubes.  How's that for a compromise?  No maintenance.

 

On my active system I use high power s/s with high damping factor for subs, and bass cabinets.  Other topology amps that play better with mid and higher frequencies for the mid bass, and top horns.

 

Doesn't need to be just s/s or tubes.  Can be both.

[Deang]

53 minutes ago, mark1101 said:

I found s/s amps that sound like tubes.  How's that for a compromise?  No maintenance.

Solid State can sound "tube-like", but it cannot sound like tubes.

 

Josh and Mike nailed it - you have to drill down and talk about topology, build quality, and implementation.

 

No two tube amps sound the same, and no two solid state amps sound the same. A tubes vs. solid state debate is pretty much a waste of time.

 

At the end of the day, it just comes down to simple preference.

 

A tube amp with some muscle can handle Metal just fine. I'm sure Bob Crites and a few others remember how I lit up Daddy Dee's Klipschorns with my Quad two-forty monoblocks -- Metallica sounded pretty damn good that day.

[derrickdj1]

Today I have been listening to music and thought darn, that sounds good.  I looked at the rack and seen I was on auto surrounds on the avr.  It is truly immersive to say the least.  I know a lot of people like the front stage presentation but, I can change up from one day to the next.  Later on tonight, I will probably cut the tubes on.  I look at this thing as not one better than the other but, as available options.  The more the better on my short list for 2 channel stuff.  

 

When I am listing for pleasure, I am not thinking of how true this is to the exact wishes of the engineers,  I thinking, is my toe tapping or my head bobbing, lol.   These are the signs they let me know if I am connecting to the sound.  Just enjoying the moment for what it is.