Major Questions Concerning Tube Amps..??

Never take advice from fanatics or Dr.s who would presume to tell you that you wouldn't understand something that's very easy to understand. Spec's as text do not matter but Stereophiles graphs mean a great deal and can tell you 90% of what yopu need to know about that amplifier. Especially when they can't test it near it rated power etc...read between the lines to get the truth.

This question cannot be answered without knowing what speakers you are using. Tube magic is not available to all people! some speakers just will not work well with tubes. Most of the speakers I like are in this category. So what speaker do you have? is a huge missing component to anyone answering these questions for you.

Personal Anecdote.

In my world where the drivers in my speakers are highly damped, have moderate sensitiviy and very flat phase responses. Most tube amplifiers are at best tolerable. They are usually flawed and ill equipped to to do the job I require. For example, Wolcott Monoblocks vs. Warner Imaging Monos on Kharma Exquisite midi's... Tubes distortion is obvious in the boom in the bass and glare in the upper mids. About the only thing that could be enticing to a listener is the overblown diffused soundstage the tubes give you.

This is just one of many examples I can give, tubes in a multi channel application are a proverbial root canal causing more probelems that they solve and will do nothing to enhance your two channel performance. Most good multi channel preamps give you the flexibility to change the sound so dramatically you can make your system sound like its on tubes. The average audiophlie will moe likely hang his speaker wire on wood bridges to make the system better before they will grasp that multi channel which REQUIRES you buy competent speakers and have an excellent processor eqippped with the propper setup parameters and understand some basic acoustics to dial in your speakers so they work as one.

Subjectivity in sound is a much narrower window in multi-channel and you can't make equipment work that doesn't. Its a binary world (1) it works (0) it doesn't. So you can see how that might make analog types feel trapped. Because you can't cover up ineffective equipment with tweaks and other band aids, like tube amp tone controls.

If you don't have a Meridian surround processor, then use your tube amp money to get one and make your two channel days a distant memory. I haven't heard a 2 channel system in the last 3 years that is better than my or many of the Meridian or TAG McLaren multichannel systems I have setup.

I realize that 99% of the people here have had the opposite experience, but Bose does sell 70% of the speakers in the US. So the majority isn't always right.

I will say this, I have not yet walked into someone's house where I could not improve their multi-channel sound significantly (I work in the industry and this list includes some very noteworthy people) just by adjusting the setup on the equipment they had. Most people are at best getting 50%-60% of the performance out of their MC systems. Keep in mind too, some speaker co's still can't make a center channel and most audio stores won't sell you three of a kind for the front speakers etc. Lots of wrong approaches to the whole multi-channel thing. No wonder people fall back into old bad habits.

Have a good one.

If you have more question or need technical backup let me know.

Yep morbius,

I knew what you're saying and I used you as the nearest available( I apologize for that; no harm meant) example that with ability to share information so easily I wonder why no one ever asks to have that information deciphered by someone like yourself with the appropriate background.

The exchange of opinions is nice, but when people are spending their money why are the facts presented by the magazines ever discussed with the same enthusiasm as the myths perpetuated by them?.

That's another topic for another thread; thanks for your thoughtful response and funny anecdote Dr. Have a good one.

Your speakers will not benefit from tube amplifiers, infact you couldn't have owned a speaker that could be worse with tube amplification. Certainly try tube amplifers on your speakers for your own experience but you'll find that your speakers will be murky and boomy.
Certainly not the effect you'd look to spend a few $K on.

Using algorithms like Trifield. What is your current processor? My post was about taking perfectly normal 2 channel cd's and playing them back on your 7.1 system. Its better than two channel! When its setup correctly and its not hokey, its very convincing! Like having huge dipoles without all the draw backs.

You are on the cusp of having an awesome system but you need to get a top flight surround processor to pull the whole system together. Not ruin the careful purchase of similar speakers and their layout through the room by messing up the synergy with antique amplifiers. Move forward not backwards. Resist temptation to line up and make the same mistakes other people have made. Common thinking will get you a common system, so hopefully you'll try a top flight processor (preferably Meridian) as part of your educational tour.

What surround processor are you using? I would put money down that I could make a $5,000 processor and $2000 multi channel amplifier sound better than any tube amplifier you could install in your system at any price playing redbook cd's! Too bad I can't do that for you...:(

Hey the Fosgate is a strong processor! Its good enough by a good margin to do what i'm talking about.

If you'd like, in ten minutes I could tell you some tricks where you can get Prologic II to rival or better your current stereo playback from you system. These tricks will also help all of your surround modes.

The Vienna Acoustic center is excellent so you should get great results.

email me if you're interested Velocity_dls AT hotmail.com

Cause then I wouldn't have an edge over my competition. If my competition wants and education it will have to cost them (like it is right now). Don't you think that is fair?

I'll help out an individual, especially when he's being led the wrong way but If you want I could setup a class on how to do these things.

I wrote an artical on Soundstage on how to setup a prologic system for music and no one cared, not one email....then when I explained why the sparkly tape tweak to CD's worked or didn't... well everybody was interested then! Go figure?

You can email me if you like. I'll need to know what your system consists of...thanks, have a good one.