I switched over to tube audio equipment in some form some years back, and have certainly enjoyed music played back through them. I have had amps, preamps, and DACS at different times utilizing tubes. One unfortunate thing that's been common to all the tube equipment I've had are problems. It doesn't seem to matter whether the manufacturer is large or small, built in the USA or overseas, they all have had problems. Capacitors blowing out, bad solder joints, tubes only lasting a short time, loud pops that mysteriously go away on their own, etc. Although I have enjoyed the sound (and that beautiful glow!), I am starting to get tired of this and thinking of going back to solid state.
Have any of you also gone back (or thought about it) to solid state for this reason? What has your experience been with the reliability of tube equipment?
Amen. I have also become somewhat anti-tube. Have owned a lot of tube gear. Negatives: They make a lot of heat, they start deteriorating the minute they're installed, they can be expensive to replace and it's a hassle. The best solid state gear is so well engineered today, and it will perform consistently for years, I just don't think there's a strong argument for tubes anymore. One man's experience and it is ultimately a matter of taste (like most things audio). Julian
I have two tube power amps which have had no issues. Actually, on one amp out of a pair of VTL monoblocks, I have had a tube go (once in 7+yrs). My other amp is an EAR 859 which uses EL519 tubes (yes, out of TVs a few dozen years ago), and the tubes are robust (supposed to last 10,000 hours) and the amp doesn't overuse them. I have had more problems in my life with mass-produced solid state gear from large manufacturers than with tube gear.
I too, for one, want to try walking down the self-made route a little bit.
Smeyers, FWIW, the 6C33 is a special case in the world of tube amplifiers. Unless the amplifier has custom sockets, the Russian or Chinese sockets that are commonly used are overheated during normal operation. The filament circuit is the part that overheats, and a wire coming off the socket is no surprise- the solder can get hot enough to melt if adequate cooling precautions are not taken.
In addition, expect that for any 6C33-based amplifier without custom sockets, that the sockets will have to be serviced and ultimately replaced on a regular schedule.
Normally in a tube amplifier there is an expectation in the marketplace that the sockets will last for at least 20-30 years. Amplifiers that use the 6C33 are simply not going to meet that expectation.
Tvad...What do you do with all those old toilets? They might make a dandy enclosure for a horn-loaded speaker system :-) Sort of a Bose wave configuration.
I love tube pre-amps and they have been very reliable - Quicksilver and AirTight.
Tube amps are a different story. I had two and sold them both, a Music Reference and VTL monoblocks. The monoblocks were so full of problems, and the response I got from VTL was less than helpful, so I sold them to a guy who knw how to troubleshoot tube amps.
I will try another tube amp because I love the sound - but it will be a self-biasing model. That'll probably work just fine.
. I love tube preamps. However, I happen to like speakers that dip to 1 ohm....and I'm not willing to spend the kind of money that it would take to purchase tube amps that can handle such low impedances. So, I go with a tube preamp and solid state amps. Life is good. .
02-11-09: Tvad [...] Anyway, the answer to your question is that the tube equipment I have owned has been reliable: VAC, Lamm, Moscode, Atma-Sphere, Modwright.
Tvad, are you sure? In another thread we discussed this because you said you'd ditched a couple of tube amps due to maintenance issues. I know the size was one issue but you stated routine troubleshooting as "a lot [of work]"
Ralph, thanks for the info on the tube sockets for the 6c33 tubes; I do not know what type of sockets the amps have. I certainly do notice how hot these tubes get. What's your view of tube coolers; something like the Pearl coolers from Parts ConneXion?
Just for kicks, and to test this thread, I dug out an ancient (well, it was 15+yrs old when I bought it) tube preamp, which I had not touched in a couple of years (27mos to be exact) since my last move, partly because it was boxed up waiting to go off and get modded if I could ever find the modder, partly because I was using my DAC as a pre.
The tube pre fired up beautifully. I waited for the little green light on the power supply, and then the green light on the pre itself, and then volume up...
It is not leaving my system again. It is beautiful. I cannot believe it was out of my system this long. I had to report this on this thread. Now I am going back to listen to the rest of Side1, then Side 2, then...
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