People who are Irrationally Afraid of tube amps

Most of the "reliability factor" or lack of it that goes along with tube gear is due to poor design, cut-corner build and too many bean-counters. If these products were built the way that the engineers designed them, they would probably be more reliable. The bean-counters say "this product is too expensive to produce and we won't make enough product, so find some way to knock the cost down by XX percent and we can put it into production". The end result is that they use 1/4 watt resistors when they need 1/2 watt, use plastic where it should be ceramic, etc...

Then you get into the guys that insist on keeping the circuit as short and simple as possible. Whie this may be a valid approach, it leaves little room for safety factors and protection circuitry. Even if one were to build such a design like the proverbial "brick out-house", when something fails, it fails BIG-TIME !!!

Bare in mind that this also takes place in SS gear. Since tubes run MUCH higher voltage though, the potential for increased arcing and / or "flame out" is drastically increased.

As to Elizabeth's comments above, Counterpoint was known for not being a real reliable product line. While many people loved the sound of these products, many also cursed them for all the problems that they brought with them. As far as amps go, i think that ARC's are the "king" of "spitting fire". Then again, ARC has probably sold more tube amps than any other manufacturer, so that could account for why we hear about them "putting on a fire & light show" more so than other brands. Sean
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Thank you very much for posting that Twl. I have some comments that i'd like to add to that thread, but have to run off to work. Some of my comments are both pro and con about this type of amp and other Carver / Sunfire products. Being an owner of multiple Sunfire products might help keep the negative things that i have to say in perspective for those that are otherwise "awed" by the sound of this amp even though it measures attrociously. Sean
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PS... I have to wonder just how much of this really is Carver and / or if Bob is simply marketing his name ??? You guys check into that and let me know, will ya ??? : )

Higher voltages are more likely to arc, not only to from a component or point of connection to circuit or chassis ground but also through the dielectric of a cap. On top of this, the high heat levels associated with output tubes can cook capacitors too. All capacitors have a shorter lifespan as temperature rises. Most caps will be rated for XXXX amount of hours at a specific temperature. Dropping below that tempurate extends their lifespan and going above that shortens the lifespan. Sean
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Kana & Twl: can you post a link to the threads on Audiocircle that you are referring to ?

El: tubes are VERY much alive in high powered RF and in the music industry. Just ask a "rockin" guitar player. Sure, some of them use SS amps, but a huge portion still cling to and are drawn to the sound of a Marshall, Ampeg, Hi-Watt, Orange, Fender, Mesa-Boogie, etc.. tube head. Even some of the Peavey amps use tubes to great effect to obtain their specific gain characteristics and tonality.

Tubegroover: Low distortion can be achieved two ways. One is to build a very simple yet well designed wide-bandwidth circuit that is relatively stable into the intended type of load that will be used with it. This can be relatively costly as it is harder to keep a simpler circuit stable into various loads and do so while retaining wide-bandwidth. As such, it may require a lot of R&D prior to arriving at a suitable design.

The other method that is FAR more common is to build a pretty decent circuit and then try to correct any deficiencies in linearity with gobs of negative feedback.

The second method is a LOT cheaper than the first to build, design and market. As one might surmise, the cheaper one almost always sounds worse but is more stable over-all, hence the use of such approach by most mass production manufacturers. I think that Halcro tried to combine both approaches but probably used too much negative feedback in order to obtain phenomenally good measurements in specific areas. One could probably add a great deal of "musicality" to the Halcro by changing a few caps, etc.. internally. Just a guess though.

As a side note, I find that i like a lot of Nelson Pass' designed amps. The funny thing here is that they don't have "killer specs" in any specific area*. The distortion is surely not "ultra-low" nor are they phenomenally "fast" in terms of rise time or slew rate. As such, i think that Nelson tried to achieve the best of both worlds i.e. some of the more desirable sonic attributes of tubes with the better measurements and bass impact of SS. From what i can tell by the specs, he seems to have found a compromise between the two. The specs appear to fall somewhere between the two different types of products i.e. lower distortions and faster response than most tube circuits but higher distortions and slower responses than the "best" ( in terms of specs ) SS amps. Has anybody else ever taken note of this or shared these thoughts ? Sean
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* Other than price : )

JohnK: Distortion is distortion is distortion. It is not part of the original signal and is strictly a by-product or "sonic signature" of the circuit. As such, it should be avoided, if possible, while still allowing the circuit to sound as good as possible. If one prefers specific attributes of a circuit, albeit distortion characteristics, un-even tonal balance, etc... so be it. They should buy what they like.

Allanbhagen: Your comment about us all being created equal is not Biblical ( if that is the God that you worship or make mention of ). The Bible teaches that we are all given our own talents and it is up to us to find and utilize those talents. As such, "equals" would all share the same talents and thought process, making us all part of the "Borg collective". The fact that we do have individual talents, physical skills and thought processes is what makes us individuals and not "clones" or "robots". If everyone were equal, we would be no different than an army of ants. Then again, i'm sure that ants have different skills, jobs and feel "different" from one another. Having said that, even the animal / insect kingdoms have various ranks and positions in their own personal societies.

The idea that you refer to about "all being created equal" can be found in the U.S. Constitution though and that is what many people get confused. Having said that, the majority of those involved in writing the Constitution had and were slave owners, so they obviously didn't mean what they were saying / writing. That is, as we interpret it today. This can be a very touchy "non-PC" subject, so i'll leave sleeping wolves alone. Sean
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PS... tubes and SS are not "equals". Each has their own "skills" and "weak points". Viva la difference : )