What's a Triode configuration?

Judy426 Is it actually a deficency with the AR or just a compatabilty mismatch between componets and ICs? I have been pretty fortunate with my matching and get very nice sound but I have been careful as to what I had and how I've changed. Also I have a great counsouler to toss opinions off of too. Right now I was looking as to how I tell differences between a pentode design and/or Triode, are all the AR Pre Amps/line stages Triode or what design would they be? Wanting AR is my personal choice I have always loved them and they were always out of reach for me, it's my personal dream. Now if Sonic Frontiers or another Pre was a better choice I am open to it I'm not being closed minded by any means, when I make a consideration for a seperate amp it will be a Classe though, becuse that was the reference for my speakers and I am hearing the joy of that matching and from the power cord changes I've made, so there I'm being unflexable at this time but, a Pre Amp to match might not be the AR as I would like and I'll have to ask at the time of that impemding change still again. We all have dreams and at this time AR is my first choices.

You seem to be emotionally attached with this dream of owning a ARC product. If that's the case follow your dream but also know you have not purchased the best value for your money. Time was when ARC was one of the best high end lines available. Unfortunately that time has passed and many newer and more innovative manufacturers have stepped all over ARC. Once again check out products from Sonic Frontiers, BAT, VAC, Rogue, Joule, Aesthetix, Supratek,etc. They are demonstrably better, more engaging, and sonically superior to ARC which has long been living off past laurels. There will inevitably be some ARC defenders posting to the contrary because they have invested unwisely in the line and can't deal with it.

Judy426, I do want to thank you for your opinion and your suggestions, I don't want to be close minded concerning my future choice so when I am in position to be doing so I hope that you will be available to offer me an opinion when I have selected an amp at that time. But still what makes a Triode configuration different from say a Pentode? and what are some basic considerations in matching a Solid State amp with a tube Pre Amp? I'm not clear as to how the impedance matching works? (I do understand impedeance on a more simple level though).

While I don't disagree with Judy426's assertions. and my last ARC product was purchased more than two decades ago, my own take on this is that many audiophiles who have toiled through the process of learning what listening is all about (I bought my first component system in 1964), soon discover that personal taste can override reality.

In addition to those recommendations, I'd have to include any number of the currently available Chinese products that appear to offer performance bettering many of their higher-priced domestic counterparts. Having just recently heard the new ModWright Labs preamp, I'd have to include this among those I might have to concede is better than your garden variety ARC piece.

As to your question about impedance matching of a SS amp to a tube preamp, I'm confident in saying that the good designs are within tolerances that most makers are using, and that this would be less of a problem than you seem to think it will be. Nonetheless there are issues between components that need to be addressed. Some, like the Rogue, invert phase/polarity -- which means that you will need to reverse your speaker cable's leads unless your amplifier also inverts. Beyond that, you will find that tonal balance varies, so you would want to select a preamp that is complimentary to that balance and bandwidth of your chosen amplifier.

In the end, though, the ultimate decision as to what works for you should be your own. It's what makes you happy that counts most.

"...what makes a Triode configuration different from say a Pentode?"

Tiodes and pentodes are different kinds of vacuum tubes. A triode has 3 active parts, a pentode 6. A pentode has more voltage gain than a triode, but, GENERALLY, triodes sound better. (Some triode fans say that pentodes sound more like transistors.) GENERALLY, triodes are used in Voltage-gain situations such as preamps and the frontends of poweramps, while pentodes and beam tetrodes are used in the output sections of tubed poweramps.

But lots of us prefer triodes all around, the most-extreme execution of that being the SET or Single-Ended Topology (or Single-Ended Triode). ('Single-Ended' means NOT having amplifying devices in push-pull configuration.) I have a pair of Antique Sound Labs Explorer 805 SET poweramps that I love. To confuse the issue, pentodes and beam tetrodes can be wired into triodes. They then have less Voltage gain and (maybe) they sound better. Triode-wired pen- and tetrodes are used in poweramp output sections or as output-tube drivers and NOT in Voltage-gain situations.

So, again, if you're considering a tubed preamp, simply ask the manufacturer if it's all triode.
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