NO! Tubes are not "warm" sounding devices! They get hot and glow. This has visual appeal but nothing to do with sonic quality. A tube circuit amplifies an electric signal with more or less distortion. Transistors do the same - only with less noise/distortion. Either tube or transistor circuits can be engineered to have identical harmonic distortion/noise. But the transistor circuit will not degrade over time, unlike the tube circuit. My advice is if you really want a warmer sound change your speakers - not the electronics!
Tube then Class D
Dear wizards:
If I take a Willeston Tube amp and use it as a phono preamp them run it thru my old NAD M2 class D amp will I retain the tube warm when I get to my magnapan 1.7's?
I have my VPI Scoutmaster in for repair and a new Grado Sonata cartridge and a new pre-amp a SHIIT Mani2. My question is, prospectively, is IF I were to use a tube amp something I can afford (Willeston R8) Will the class D mask out the tube warm. I has also have two PSB subs
Is what I am thinking even reasonable or doable? I'd rather hear the laughter now than my crying after paying for a tube pre-amp.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
Joe M2