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What do you see as the downside of tubes?

I have decided on getting a tube amp and it will be the integrated Mastersound 300B driving a pair of Living Voice Avatars, so at least that decision has been taken.

My main question is what you see as downsides of having a tube amp. As I've decided on getting an integrated tube it's really about what the downsides are I might want to know about beforehand.

The ones I'm aware are the following.

-The tubes need to be replaced and in the case of a 300B this will be somewhat costly.

-Bias is another issue but I'm not sure how big an issue. Do you plug in your meter every so often or just when you roll tubes or replace a dead one? The meter as such isn't gonna be a big issue as I don't think it's that expensive.

-Heat won't be a big issue as we have no kids nor a nosy dog that could get burned. Hope my electricity bill isn't gonna go through the roof, but then again, I can't quite imagine that.

I'd appreciate if you could add whatever your experiences are regarding this question are as I'd like to know more before I buy it.

Thanks
krauti
bjesien
614 posts
 
Mastersound makes great amplifiers. Enjoy! Tube amps need such simple maintenance. If you can change the oil in your lawnmower you will have no problem maintaining a tube amp. If you have to bring the lawnmower in for a new engine because you blew it up, think again.

As for the costs, you just dropped more than the cost of a car for 30% of the population. It will be worth the cost of tubes every couple years.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Every tube has it's own sound signature. Even so, I have them in my DAC, and that is what I hear. So, I guess I am a fan of tubes, as long as they are little ones in my DAC.
bizango1
276 posts
 
My friend has two lava lamps, Carver electronics and Double Advents, and a Members Only jacket.
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
Not sure if anyone mentioned that some tube amps may take a while to warm up and sound right after turned on.

I think tubes at the line stage level in the source or pre-amp rather than in the power amp are a lower impact way to get some of the merits of good tube sound while minimizing the exposure to some of the downsides mentioned. That's where I am with my system at present.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
My friend has two lava lamps, Carver electronics and Double Advents, and a Members Only jacket.
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