2. amps-preamps
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What do you see as the downside of tubes?

I have decided on getting a tube amp and it will be the integrated Mastersound 300B driving a pair of Living Voice Avatars, so at least that decision has been taken.

My main question is what you see as downsides of having a tube amp. As I've decided on getting an integrated tube it's really about what the downsides are I might want to know about beforehand.

The ones I'm aware are the following.

-The tubes need to be replaced and in the case of a 300B this will be somewhat costly.

-Bias is another issue but I'm not sure how big an issue. Do you plug in your meter every so often or just when you roll tubes or replace a dead one? The meter as such isn't gonna be a big issue as I don't think it's that expensive.

-Heat won't be a big issue as we have no kids nor a nosy dog that could get burned. Hope my electricity bill isn't gonna go through the roof, but then again, I can't quite imagine that.

I'd appreciate if you could add whatever your experiences are regarding this question are as I'd like to know more before I buy it.

Thanks
krauti

Showing 1 response by bjesien

bjesien
1,381 posts
 
Mastersound makes great amplifiers. Enjoy! Tube amps need such simple maintenance. If you can change the oil in your lawnmower you will have no problem maintaining a tube amp. If you have to bring the lawnmower in for a new engine because you blew it up, think again.

As for the costs, you just dropped more than the cost of a car for 30% of the population. It will be worth the cost of tubes every couple years.
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