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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 rolox

rolox
180 posts
 

I find my tiny flea power class D amps to have some of the subjective character of SET amps (to some degree, of course, but more so than many "traditional" class A or class AB solid state)

They have been ON for the last 10 years, 24/7, just like the rest of the system. The only device I turn off at night is my DAC, because its massive discrete output stage gets quite warm and it also uses more electricity (!) than my amps (really, I'm not making this up).

I've become addicted to the convenience and absence of fuss - the system is ON, all the time, I just need to press "play" and tadaa! music. Even tho I'm constantly trying to improve (as many audiophiles do), I'm extremely reluctant to change the amps. 

I've recently added some Duelund speaker cable and it added the slight warmth / bloom / liquidity that I was missing. I believe one could be fooled into thinking the system uses tube amps, in a blind test.

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