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Solid State Amps That Sound Tube-Like....


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Guest wdecho
1 hour ago, CECAA850 said:

There you go. 

I can't however tell you exactly what they do to induce it though.

Not induced but more of the nature of class A in a well designed circuit. There is no way to really recognize 2nd harmonic being that it is not offensive.  The soft clipping of a Single Ended class A amplifier is obvious on the square wave on an oscilloscope. A 2nd harmonic signal is musical. But remember that when one is talking 2nd harmonic distortion in a Nelson Pass amp as a rule we are talking .5% or much less whereas a SET tube amplifier the 2nd order harmonic distortion can rise to 10% or more at clipping and one may not even notice it in the music when it rises that much on peaks. Generally I like to keep the 2nd harmonic in a tube amplifier in the max of 2% to 3% at 1 watt with flea amplifiers. 

 

Carl the Amp Camp you built, which is a last edition of the Zen series, has 2% distortion at 5 watts and I can almost guarantee you have never heard it as offensive being that we hardly use 1 watt nominal power with 2 or 3 watts on peaks. Below 2 watts the distortion is 2nd harmonic but does turn into 3rd harmonic over 2watts. At 1 watt, the figure most will ever use except on peaks with Klipsch speakers, the distortion figure is .6% 2nd harmonic. Fantastic sounding little class A SS amplifier that is easy to build. As you have posted on the forum on your build thread it will benefit from a better power supply. I built it myself, just playing on day, and really enjoyed it's sound for a single ended class A one transistor clapping amplifier. 

 

I would not call them tube like because it is the sound of any well designed class A amplifier whether tube or SS. More of sounding the same being that they are Class A simple circuits without much if any feedback. 

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How does the tube sound happen, This is what I know basee on Pioneer Elite SC 99 avr that have dual 32 bit DAC's.  A 32 bit DAC can/will requantize 16, 20 and 24 bit music to 32 bit.  This will bring about a smoother and less harsh presentation.  Then you can use the avr's digital filters SLOW(soft and warm), SHARP(solid and tight) and SHORT(quick and forward).

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I don't know what this amp sounds like in it's original form. Never heard one, never had one. I'm just floored by how good it sounds and how 'tooby' it sounds.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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23 hours ago, derrickdj1 said:

A 32 bit DAC can/will requantize 16, 20 and 24 bit music to 32 bit.  This will bring about a smoother and less harsh presentation.  Then you can use the avr's digital filters SLOW(soft and warm), SHARP(solid and tight) and SHORT(quick and forward).

No disrespect, but I don't understand this comment.  

 

If you have a 16-bit source, you aren't going to get 32 bits of resolution.  The maximum number of values in 16 bits is 2^16 / 2 (signed) is 32,768.  2^32 / 2 on the other hand is 2,147,483,648 values.  You can't make data out of air.

 

I suppose you could look ahead in the data stream and interpolate the missing values, but you haven't added real information to the signal.

 

Maybe you can explain it to me.

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2 hours ago, codewritinfool said:

No disrespect, but I don't understand this comment.  

 

I can't put up a good argument  for the 32 bit DAC's since much of it is marketing hype.  The filters used are able to discern 32 bit resolution but, not being an audio engineer, I can't support or not support the significance of this as far as the final sound.  The most likely answer to why some avr's have a tube like sounds is multifactorial and based on the parts used to construct the avr.

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  • 3 months later...

I'm very late to this party but here is what I have. When used with a tube preamp are said to give tube like performance? 

Last build 2000-2002? I have three using one to power a center speaker along with a McIntosh C2300 Pre amp

Pros, Ton of power, RCAs in and out easy setup fora mono center. 

Search reviews there are a bunch to be found. They pop up for sale somewhat cheap used from time to time. 

Cons, I still go back to his TAD-60 tube amp for critical listening, 

 

TAD website Description:
Hibachi II amps are built with discrete transistors, no integrated circuits. A classic class A/B design (not a digital amp) with a twist - Near Zero Feedback is finally achieved in this unusual top shelf sounding solid state design. The only solid-state amps that reveal recorded harmonic information (like tubes). Directly wired without coupling caps for outstanding perfect phase timed clarity. 1000 year vacuum tube voltage regulator rejects power line noise. A high current 8-pound hum free toroidal power transformer feeds a giant film bypassed filter cap bank that promotes effortless high speed current capability. Hibachi amps reveal ear pleasing tube amp 2nd order harmonic content other solid-state amps by design cannot play. 205 Watts with 4-Ohm speakers, 180W with 8-Ohm speakers. This powerhouse pair is made to deliver the best possible sound from speakers rated above 85db/1-Watt. Beautiful deep 11 clear coat piano black enclosures with removable tall rubber isolation feet make installation easy. Place on the floor near speakers or in your audio rack, horizontally or vertically.

SPECS & DETAILS
# 205W RMS Clean into 4-Ohm speakers, 180W RMS into 8-Ohm Speakers
# Best with speakers rated over 85db, 2-Ohm to 16-Ohm
# Perfectly Flat Frequency Response 5Hz-50kHz, -3db 2Hz-200kHz
# Cutting Edge Design without feedback reveals recorded harmonic structures like a tube amplifier while maintaining solid state bass capabilities
# Features Soft Clipping like tube amps
# NO Coupling Caps, Directly Connected Part To Part for Zero Loss in Detail, Zero Phase Shift Blur
# 0.7V-RMS input for full power (normal CD player line level output)
# Easy to drive & match 46k Input Impedance
# Small volume knob on each amp to balance the room and adjust the input sensitivity. (0.7V to 20V) to match any preamp with RCA jacks
# Hibachi-II's have External Access Speaker Protection Fuses Supplied with 4-Amp speaker fuses for 200W rated speakers, Use 3-Amp speaker fuses for
# 17 Pounds Each
# 13-1/2" x 11" x 9" Tall to top of binding posts
# Giant toroidal high current 8-pound power transformer with smart sensing vacuum tube filter and huge film bypassed filter cap array
# Self-test power up: Red light speaker disconnected for 2-seconds then relay clicks to Green light
# Draws very light current idling silent (12-watts),
# A Power Conditioner with relay disconnect surge protection is highly recommended to protect your valuable audio equipment
# Large WBT Style gold 5-way speaker wire binding posts accept all wire gauges
# Versatile high quality 4-Way Solid Nickel RCA's: Use one RCA for the normal mono block input. Combine L & R preamp signals on the amplifier using 2 RCA jacks to make mono for a center speaker. Has 2 more RCA jacks to easily daisy chain another amp for bi-amping. Can use the extra jacks for HT: Connect both your HT processor and your 2-chan preamp outputs to this amplifier at the same time - has a unique TAD designed isolation network on the RCA jacks.

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649383425-tad-hibachi-ii-monoblocs-high-power-tube-amp-sound-without-tubes-beautiful-condition/

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  • 1 month later...

Want a good cheap amp? Build a 1969 JLH 10 watt  class A transistor (2N3055 transistors) amp.Simple, low parts count, sounds very good with excellent bass and I think, much like a low power SET.Or buy one of many Chinese JLH modules already made and add an inexpensive (Antec) toroidal transformer and build the power supply.Nelson Pass built a version of this amp he calls the "PLH" , I believe.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/5/2018 at 10:50 AM, richieb said:

 

=== I went ahead and bought Pass Labs on the assumption I win the lotto — hope I didn’t overplay my hand — 

Love the optimism! Is that the same thinking that went into you buying a Hellcat? Haha

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=== I went ahead and bought Pass Labs on the assumption I win the lotto — hope I didn’t overplay my hand — 
I am waiting for 3 ACAs to be shipped, and I will start my first ever electronics build. Pretty cheap at $129 per amp, if you ask me for the parts only kits. I will design and build my own amp cases most likely...looking for heat sinks now.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

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On 11/5/2018 at 10:50 AM, richieb said:

 

=== I went ahead and bought Pass Labs on the assumption I win the lotto — hope I didn’t overplay my hand — 

The sit-3?

Take us plenty of pictures and a full review would be cool...

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17 hours ago, Schu said:

The sit-3?

Take us plenty of pictures and a full review would be cool...

 

=== nope. The Pass Labs XA25, 25 Class A watts. 

The SIT 3 is from Pass’ First Watt line. I’ve spoken with a prominent Pass dealer who said the 25 for the SIT is a lateral move at best. 

Although I am in line as they continue to become available and who knows, I may try one for shitts and giggles —

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