2. amps-preamps
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Can tubes ever be as quiet Solid State

Recently I have had a major frame shift in my view regarding new production tubes which are getting to be pretty darned good over old tubes which still have marvelous sonic attributes but are often plagued by unwanted noises.This has resulted in my preferring certain current production over old stock more and more.
My question isn't are older tubes even NOS better than new production rather the question is are any tube systems able to match the noise floor of the quieter solid state amps? I was thinking in particular of gain stages in a phono stage. Opinions please
mechans
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I have been told the solid state Heed Quasar phono is a great, musical component and a bargain. I'm going to check one out next week.

I mention this because you said your focus was on a phono stage. Perhaps there's no need to change your tube preamp.
keneallyfan
25 posts
 
I'd love to know what conditions that measurement was taken under to get a number like that.
brucenitroxpro
11 posts
 
I designed circuits starting in 1958 and continue to this day. I read carefully, every word posted here. Much of it is disappointing and leads me to believe that there are many elitists around without qualifications in metrology or experimental psychology. At the present state of the art, it is ridiculous to ask the questions and give the answers presented here. Think what you want. It appears that the scientific world is being downgraded to a black art and common sense sent back to wherever it began.
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