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how close in sound can a tube and ss amp sound ?

i have observed threads requesting advice regarding tube sounding solid state amps, within a price point.

i wonder how to confirm such a request.

in addition to recommendations, what about comparing a particular ss amp to a particular tube amp using an experimental design where bias, or preconception has been eliminated ?

has anyone tested the hypothesis that he/she cannot detect the difference between a tube and a ss amp, within the same power range, price point and minimizing interaction problems, such as impedeance mismatches ?

on the other hand if someone is seeking a tube-like sound out of a solid state amp, i would assume that one would use a "classic" sounding tube amp, e.g., cj mv 45, cj 75, cj 100, or cj mv125 as the tube amp and try to find a ss amp that is indistinguishable from the sound of the classic tube amp.

i have found that many ss amps differ with respect to bass and treble response from many tube amps.

in my own case, i would love to find a 120 watt ss amp which sounds like my vtl tube amp. unfortunately, i am not optimistic.

in other threads, some people have stated that it is impossible to find a ss amp that is "tube-like", in the classic sense.
mrtennis

Showing 5 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
Just picked up a pair of TAD 125 Hibachi amps for my second system and am giving these a whirl. These seem to fit the bill as an attempt to emulate tube sound with a SS amp.

Too early to draw firm conclusions but I will say so far that these do have some similarities to "tube amp sound" that I have heard, probably more so than typical SS amps, and am thinking the comparison is a fair one.

We'll see....
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
TG,

I see your point in that neither technology has a lock on all aspects of the "absolute" sound of live music.

But both technologies do tend to have some unique strengths and weaknesses in general that tend to distinguish them so I think it is a fair question how close can they sound.

The best answer I can come up with is they can sound "very close", in fact probably so close that most would not be able to tell the difference reliably in practice.

Then of course, they are also quite capable of sounding quite distinct in ways that can often be clearly correlated to the technology used.

The gear I tend to like seems to have some common good attributes of both. Some of it is tube based and some not. I care more about the results than how they are achieved, but I also tend to be tube shy in that the extra work and expense required over time to keep things properly tuned and working does not appeal to me although I think tubes are way cool in general and I love to watch them glow.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
"Can we agree that it takes a 150 watt SS amp to duplicate a 75 watt tube amp?"

In terms of listenable volume, often the case, but there are some soft clipping SS amps that might not fit this mold as much as most.

Also a 75 watt SS amp may be more likely to deliver more solid bass performance at moderate volume than a 75 watt tube amp with many speakers that are "difficult loads" and perform better in the bass normally with SS gear.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
To sum it up, for me, the best tube amps I have heard are the ones that sound more like SS and the best SS amps are the ones that sound more like tubes.

Luckily there are some companies and products out there of both ilks that do a pretty good job of resolving this dilemma. And there are many others that almost do but manage to retain a unique bias to their sound that also has mass appeal.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
I think Unsound, Timlub and I are hitting on the same point that there are many difficult load speakers as Timlub describes that few if any tube amps can handle properly. The result is tonal imbalance and often weak bass regardless of volume/loudness/watts.

Tube amps and SS amps tend to each mesh best with different speaker designs, so it is not possible to equate them based on watts delivered alone, even though a tube amp will likely remain listenable at louder volumes than a similar watt SS amp due to soft clipping and other aspects of how these amps perform.
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