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Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better?

Yes tubes are more involved and require periodic maintenance. Hybrid tube components need not apply, these are really solid state.

Tubes are better for multiple reasons and yet the world and the trade prefers solid state. Those rare audio shops that are geared toward stereo listening and serious connoisseurs tend to Focus more on tubes.  Those in business who like to improve volumes tend to offer solid state.  All the YouTube channels looking to improve their business tend to be solid state.  Maybe because tubes require much more expertise to sell, and there's lesser and lesser to go around. Solid state is more of a fast food commodity.

Tubes are difficult for businesses due to all the maintenance and complexity so you see it less often. Much much easier to sell hybrids or solid state.

 

 

emergingsoul

Showing 1 response by maxwellseq

maxwellseq
31 posts
 

I find myself convinced by much of what @atmasphere says.

I was lucky to be taught tube design at university (due to the non-retirement of an aged lecturer). In other labs I manufactured ICs!

Tubes have a lot of strengths and it’s quite possible to design reasonably accurate line-level amplifier stages using them. When it comes to power amplifiers, the need to use a transformer to effectively convert lots of volts to lots of current, creates many manufacture challenges, especially at very low frequencies. It’s also hard to avoid relatively high output impedances, in which cases, the sound can eb affected by the speaker’s impedance curve and every instance will sound different (but not, strictly, accurate).

The low cost and size of silicon and germanium devices means it’s economically possible to use 10 optimised devices for the equivalent of a singe tube - which can be compromised though having to do "too much". One approach is to use a 40+ tube amplifier, but even the most enthusiastic supporters find that a bit difficult to imagine :-)

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