2. amps-preamps
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Question about wpc on tube amps

I have been kind of looking at tube amps based on what people seem to think about them.

Here is my question- whenever I look at the wpc, they are remarkably low vs. a solid state amp for the money. 

It leaves me scratching my head. Then, somewhere I read that you can't compare a tube amp with a solid state amp . Something along the lines of "10 watts of tube power equals 100 watts in a SS amp". 

What? Is this real?  Seems unlikely to me. 

Are the wildly low power ratings on the tube amps I am looking at simply due to the fact I am looking at $1,000 amps vs the bajillion dollar amps you guys buy?

Would I be better off spending the money on a tube preamp for the "tube" sound I always hear about. 

I am running Magnepan . 7's  with a Bryston amp. Since the . 7's are power hogs are tubes even a realistic thing for me in my lowish budget? 

Thanks! 

 

timintexas

Showing 1 response by dz13

dz13
281 posts
 

While I agree that 10 watts of tube amp does not equal 100 watts of SS power, I'm not sure about the idea that tube amps won't work with Magnepan speakers though the small budget would be a problem unless something used can be found. 

Here is another Audiogon thread on the topic:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/tube-amp-for-magnepan?highlight=magnepan%2Btube%2Bamp

I had always heard that it wasn't necessarily the amount of the current, but the quality of the current that makes the Magnepans sing. 

 

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