To Tube or not to Tube......

Are SS amps more reliable? Over decades I've had many tube guitar amps with almost zero failures during rough service, and plenty of SS hifi, PA, bass, and even SS guitar amps that have had serious issues, so I doubt SS amps are actually "more" reliable. I can wait the 30 seconds it takes for tubes to warm up, and unless you have high output mono amps or something with a lot of tubes, it's a few hundred bucks every few years in mandatory tube cost with a lot of great, relatively inexpensive new tubes out there with no actual reason to buy pricey NOS tubes unless you feel like it. Plenty of tube options might be better than ever as far as cost and sound are concerned. My tube amp hastle: turn amp on, enjoy it, turn amp off.

Ebuzz, I am not saying anything crosswise to the comments above. But I do suggest you look at the OP currently running about tube amps and electrostats. You may find the comment from Ralph, Al and George to be informative. Also, I posted a link to an EPDR (a refined definition of impedance which takes into consideration phase angles) article, which is really helpful.

Here's some cheap advice which may cost some bucks. I'm a tube head -- ARC gear all-around. My former amp was an ARC VS-115 which was a really terrific amp -- 128 wpc into 8 ohms; 335 joule power supply. I used the VS-115 to drive Paradigm Signature 8 (v3) speakers, which I wouldn't describe as tube friendly.

I think the VS-115 was able to do a pretty good job driving the S8s because the amp had muscle in terms of watts and power supply. Plus the S8s have a 92 db sensitivity rating. My current amp is an ARC Ref 150. It definitely has the muscle (150 wpc into 8 ohms and 1040 joule power supply) to drive my wife nuts when I play Michael Jackson or the 1812 Overture. :)

Oh ... and I also use a sub-woofer to take some heat off the S8s and the amp.

So here's my cheap advice that is expensive. I don't think you're gonna find anyone out there to give you a speaker's EPDR rating. But ... at least try and look for bench test specs for the speaker you have or are looking at. You see impedance numbers that drop below 4 ohms over a wide low frequency bandwidth, some serious negative phase angles (more than -40 degrees) over the same bass region, and a low sensitivity rating (lower than mid to high 80 dbs), you'd better plan on getting a high power/high current SS beast.

It gets tough when you are looking at the "intermediate" speaker with moderate sensitivity ratings, impedance and phase angle specs. I think the EPDR article either expressly said, or at least implied, if not sure, get an amp with the most muscle you can afford. And that goes double with tubes, especially so with the amp's power supply specs, which is where the reserve power will come from when the 1812 cannons kick-in. :)

Bruce

Mikewerner, one argument for tubes you may not have considered: semiconductors are going obsolete all the time. Just try finding output devices for a MOSFET amp made in the 1980s and you will see what I mean.

In the tube world we don't have this problem quite so much. Heck we can buy 6SN7s a hundred at a time no worries. That is a tube that was thought to be obsolete 40 years ago.

I own several analog synthesizers as I play in a band. The ICs in my Prophet 5 are a little hard to come by. Curtis Instruments, that made the ICs, is gone and the chips, if you can find them, are now going for $150 for single units on ebay. Right now the semiconductor industry really does not want to make linear power devices, so talk to any amp manufacturer and you will see why class D is up and coming- they are made from devices you can actually buy. FWIW, the semiconductor industry really does not care about what we audiophiles want.

Also, tubes will survive the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear air burst...isn't that comforting?

Yes, that is what I heard. Tubes keep those Russian birds flying no matter what!