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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 3 responses by yoyoyaya

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
614 posts
 

@emergingsoul "Tubes are better for multiple reasons"

Would you care to enumerate?

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
614 posts
 

@emergingsoul 

"multiple reasons why tube sound better? It probably is due to how harmonics are handled.  Don't tubes impact harmonics differently, ie, provide more emphasis throughout the harmonic range in ways solid state does not?  This is possibly why tube's provide a Fuller sound at lower volume."

This falls a bit short of "multiple reasons".

Anyway, to answer your rhetorical question - no, tubes don't "provide more emphasis throughout the harmonic range in ways solid state does not".

Tube power amplifiers tend to have higher levels of musically consonant harmonic distortion than SS amps do. However, that is a broad generalisation which I only mention in the context of your statement/question. It is unwise to attribute a sonic character to any particular technology because there are far too many variables involved in sound reproduction to distill them down to any particular technology.

Regarding the marketplace, SS amplifiers are more successful because they run cooler, do not have fragile output devices and are generally cheaper per watt than tube amplifiers - especially where high power outputs are required.

 

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
614 posts
 

@emergingsoul,

 

As Wolf Garcia has said, there are many "reference" systems using tube amplifiers of all kinds - otherwise companies like Jadis, VTL and Audio Research (now rescued) would not exist.

The term "reference system" is a bit meaningless. However, to the extent that is is taken to mean systems aspiring to emulate the dynamic range and frequency response of live music, the challenge in using tubes for non horn-based systems of this type is the sheer amount of tubes and associated circuitry needed to generate high power output.

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