Major Questions Concerning Tube Amps..??

DMH,

The wattage is the product of the voltage and the current -
so if the amp, for a given voltage is delivering less wattage,
it is delivering less current - not more.

The above posters are correct that although the tube amp puts
out more distortion - it is a more "pleasing" distortion.

Tube amps put out mainly "even-order" distortion products -
while solid state amps put out mainly "odd-order" distortion
products. Our hearing is more "bothered" by the odd-order
distortion than an equivalent amount of even-order distortion.

Unless you're an electical engineer, and really understand
the specs and all their implications - ignore the specs and
trust your ears.

Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist

D_edwards,

I don't mean to be presumptive, that DMH wouldn't understand
specs. However, from reading many questions on many forums -
including this one - I can see that there is a lot of confusion
with regard to specs.

As you probably know, since you are in the industry - published
specs can be confusing since there are likely omissions in the
specs - for a power rating - what was the load? - or what was
the allowed level of distortion?

The graphs in Stereophile contain a lot of information -
but a lot of non-technical people don't have experience
interpreting graphs.

Therefore, I believe the safest advice for the non-technically
inclined is to ignore the specs; and trust their ears.

So many times I've seen people attempt to "drink by the label"
and they can't "read the label".

I guess the safest advice is for the prospective buyer to
ask themselves if they really understand what the spec
means. If they feel confortable with their knowledge -
then they can use the spec to help formulate their buying
decision.

However, if they feel that their knowledge is on the subject
is fuzzy - then they should ignore the spec - or at least
obtain some clarification before using the info.

For example, years ago a friend wanted to buy a tape recorder
He thought that the slower the tape speed, the better -
because the machine would have a more difficult time at
the higher speed because the tape was flying by so fast!!!

Dr. Gregory Greenman