2. amps-preamps
  3. 159891-2029

Never Owned a Tube Amp and Want Advice

Hi All, 

I have never owned a tube amplifier before and am planning to purchase one with a minimum of 50 watts per channel to mate with 8 ohm 88 dbl speakers.

My hope is experienced audiogoners will share their expertise regarding how to approach this. While I realize listening is the best way to learn about sound and compatibility; I want to learn a better understanding about brands with less maintenance and longer tube life, how to decide between mono or stereo,can a newbie play with bias or is auto biasing a better first choice, etc.

I would also appreciate what to look for in selecting a used tube amp to identify one that might be in need of repair. For example, with solid state depending on the brand, capacitor replacement can be more of a concern. Any advice on what to look out for or ask about with used tube amps would be appreciated.

A big question I have is how to understand the relationship between power tubes like E34's, 120.s, etc. and, I guess the driver? tubes like 12au7's and 12at7's. That  is to ask which is more critical to the overall sound of the amp? FWIW, I routinely tube roll with my preamps.  

I 've read through a number of threads but maybe someone can point me to good ones I may have missed. 

Thanks for listening,

Dsper
dsper

Showing 5 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
@audition__audio 
I'm so sorry to snap at you as I did, your comments are completely justified. I too have reacted to the ridiculous and incorrect statements put forth by that member.
And Ralph's contribution to this forum have been invaluable, so much so, I own one of his masterpieces.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
OP; what speakers will you be using?
Impedance will determine how well an amp drives the speaker; ie, a speaker with an impedance curve that stays in the 8ohm range will be easy to drive. The 88dB sensitivity may be on the low side but is less important if the speakers have an easy load to drive.
If you need high SPL’s in a large room, higher sensitivity speakers are required.
So, need to know more than the nominal impedance spec, although 50 to 60wpc may be fine.

The tube which has the most impact sonically is the gain stage input tube, often a 12AX7. Power tubes will provide the timber or tone of music; warm or neutral, bass and treble extension.
Transformers play a very important role in amp implementation. They have a sonic signature and the amount and quality of current delivered will affect speaker performance.



lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
@dsper 
You should check with Tyler, but a 50-60 wpc push pull amp should be fine with those speakers.

My speakers are 90dB, 8 ohm nominal. The impedance curve is pretty flat at 8 ohms and I use a 30wpc dual-mono Atma-sphere amp. Wonderful sound.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
That's great info @tvad .
Which leads me to question, how large is the OP's listening room?

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
Here we go again with the statement that tube watts are greater than S.S. watts. This statement is patently false and should call into question anything this member says in the future.

Are you sure you want to go there? "This member" didn't state that tube watts are greater than SS. He provided a very good, comprehensive explanation. "This member" should know, he's been designing high-end tube amps for at least 30 years.



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