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 2 responses by mb9061

mb9061
137 posts
 
Unless you or your pets (or both) are having sex with the the amp, I wouldn't think burns would be an issue. No more than a hot stove and usually a warning will suffice there for those that don't know better (or they'll learn fast enough). Besides, most have covers or grills.

The majority of new tube amps should be reliable, but if replacing lightbulbs in your home is too much of a headache, then a tube amp may not be the answer.

I've owned both, to me my current tube amp sounds the best of any I've owned and it does great in home theater duty too.
mb9061
137 posts
 
Most amps have safety measures in place if a tube goes bad (or is bad right out of the gate). I bought a Rogue Tempest II integrated back in February and apparently UPS dropped it while it was being shipped. Among other damage, one of the tubes was bad (Rogue tests everything before shipment). When I plugged the tube in after receiving the amp, I found out it was a "runaway" as the bias on the tube pinned the needle all the way to the right and the tube popped the corresponding fuse. So a popped fuse, a little bit of smoke, some cussing and that was it. No damage to the speakers, no damage to the amp (other than what UPS had done to it already, unfortunatley).

Rogue took the Tempest II back and instead I went with a Stereo 90 that they custom modded for me (which took another month of waiting to receive), but aside from the waiting I couldn't be happier.

Tube amps are not exactly hassle free, but they're typically not a pain in the #ss either, unless you end up with a bad apple (and what manufacturer doesn't have a dud every once in a while?).
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