Tubes vs Solid State

Yea. Tubes are way cool. Especially the "BIG" ones, eh. Now that's gotta be some serious WAF appeal. Anybody out there with just 'little' tubes on their amps? I sometimes wonder if there is a phallic influence in owning one of those things. Anyone?

Wolf, I have actually done that. The covers on the amps I happen to be using at a given time always have the screws removed. It takes about a month to settle down a particular amp and get it's bias and it's offset optimized. After that it needs to be checked regularly. Contrary to popular belief, ss amps are by no means maintenance free. Once you've got it 'actually' running optimally, this whole thing about IM, TIM, brightness, etc. becomes moot. The key is channel balance within the amp. You either have it or you don't. When you do, that so-called brightness becomes attenuated, the amp becomes very linear sounding, and you have an actual dimensional sound stage. But I'm a vintage guy. Can't speak about class D or switch-mode amps.

Schubert, you only need to care about what an amp is doing on average. So the meter doesn't have to be fast, just accurate. However, my position that you must do final adjustments while listening doesn't cease to be valid, for other reasons. But bridged monos are a whole other ball game. Here you have no choice but to rely on your instruments until you finally 'hit' it. I've tried using just right channels on both amps in stereo, matching them, and then matching left to right in each amp. That doesn't work because bias is thermally influenced and the unused left channel runs cool initially, influencing the overall temp of the amp differently than when it's being matched to it's respective right channel. These temperatures are critical and no two identical amps behave identically, just as no two identical channels of a stereo amp behave identically.

Sorry, I was speaking on a different issue. Almarg has made it abundantly clear many times over that you simply can't have too much power, period. People are not aware just how taxing the music really is. I think Al may even be a bit conservative in his estimations regarding run of the mill compressed recordings.

You mean like the emperor?

I'm not impressed with ML either. Too clinical, not enough decay or depth. Sounds like it's trying to be an Ampzilla. Very mediocre.

Early vintage Levinsons are probably better. Especially when brought up to date.