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Tube Equipment: Gimmick?

I recently had a mechanical engineer (who has no interest in audio equipment or the industry) express amazement when I told him about the high prices of tube gear. His amazement, he said, stemmed from the fact that tubes are antiquated gear, incapable of separating signals the way (what we call "solid state") equipment can.

In essence, he said tubes could never be as accurate as SS gear, even at the height of the technology's maturity. This seems substantiated by the high-dollar tube gear I've heard - many of the things that many here love so much about the "tube sound" are wonderful - but to my ears, not true to the recording, being either too "bloomy" in the vocal range or too "saturated" throughout, if that makes any sense.

I have limited experience with tubes, so my questions are: what is the attraction of tubes, and when we talk about SS gear, do we hit a point where the equipment is so resolving that it makes listening to music no fun? Hmmm..or maybe being *too* accurate is the reason folks turn from SS to tubes?

Thanks in advance for the thoughts!
aggielaw

Showing 3 responses by macrojack

macrojack
1,303 posts
 
I guess Harry Pearson initiated this argument by positing the notion of an Absolute Sound. This, of course, is nonsense since the sort of sound satisfaction we seek can only be evaluated subjectively and therefore lacks a standard. Yeah, I know, live music, blah, blah, blah.
Again, the evaluation is purely subjective, the numbers and measurements and theory are useless and the fun , focus or finale are all in how YOU perceive them.
So pick your poison and shut up. The other guy is not wrong and neither are you. This sort of bickering seems to support the accusation that audiophiles are somehow immature or underdeveloped. And maybe you are but I would really appreciate it if you would stop reflecting badly on the rest of us.
Reminds me of the joke about how 99% of attorneys give the rest of them a bad name.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
That's what I was trying to say, Gunbei. What the hell difference does it make what somebody else listens to. What kind of amplification you use is no more important to the rest of the sane world than what kind of music you play or what you wear while listening. Christ, has there been a thread yet about what kind of chair you should sit in or the best sounding paint for your walls?
I've got two middle school boys who behave like you guys. No matter what one of them says, the other contradicts or otherwise challenges it. I'm hoping they will outgrow it but since I know many of you are at least middle aged, I am not so hopeful for you. Please try to see the light.
If you like tubes, use em. If you prefer SS, go for it. Try to concentrate on what you have in common and cherish and respect your differences. Obviously noone is going to win the argument. And there are so many other gimmicks to discuss.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
I have an old Nikon FM2N and a new Olympus C5000 Zoom and I can't use either one very well.
Gumbei pretty well brought the fox to ground with his final few words. Look beyond the hair. You'll find no argument there.
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