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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 3 responses by larryi

larryi
4,188 posts
 

I am a big tube fan and run very low-powered tube amps with some fairlyefficient speakers.  I have also heard various maggies run with tube amps, some not so powerful, and the sound can be quite amazingly good.  But, there were limitations on how loud the maggies could play with lower powered tube amps.  As for high-powered tube amps, I tend not to like the sound of such amps as much as I like lower powered amps; the high-powered amps tend to have a brittle sound.  Where higher power is a must, I prefer solid state, particularly where there are budget constraints.

I don't think it would be easy to find ANY kind of tube amp at $1,000 that would have enough power and would sound good.  A used tube amp would be a possibility, but, used gear is something someone with experience with tube gear can buy and service, whereas someone without experience might not be as suited to owning such gear.

larryi
4,188 posts
 

If anything, a claim/rating of 10 wpc by a tube amp builder is LESS than 10 wpc of a typical solid state smp.  Most tube amp “ratings” are at extremely high distortion levels while solid state amps are typically rated well short of clipping.

But, I suspect the notion of tube amp watts being “more” than solid state watts has to do with tube amps sounding more full, saturated, and weighty at lower volume than typical solid state amps.  The can play at lower volume and still satisfy.

larryi
4,188 posts
 

One would not want to play an amp rated at 2 watts at that level for any sustained period.  So, let's say one operated it at only 1 watt.  With my speakers that would be an output of 99 db under the rating conditions.  Those conditions are in free air (i.e., no nearby boundaries) at one meter.  But, in my room the room contains the sound and increases the loudness as compared to free air.  Also, I run stereo, so there are two speakers playing.   I do sit a ways back from the speaker, which reduces volume at my ears, but all in all, I could probably get close to 99 db from 1 watt per channel.  That is pretty loud.  I run these speakers with an amp that puts out about 5.5 wpc, so I have some headroom.  I don't play my system at high volume levels so I get by with such modest available power.

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