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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
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Hard to tell, Madfloyd, if your post is a question, or sarcastic statement.

I can say from experience, rolled of highs and bloated bass do not have to be a
downside of tubes provided the amp/speaker match is correct.
raquel
841 posts
 
Regarding the comment by Markwatkiss about supposed fairy tales, high quality output transformers are mandatory (as are hefty power supplies) for controlling the woofers in the typical audiophile speaker featuring a 4 Ohm or less load in the bass, and they are extremely expensive. I am not aware of any tube amp that retails for less than $10k that can properly control the woofers of such speakers assuming a normal listening room and average program material.

Ralph (Atmasphere): I agree. I have owned auto-biasing VAC Renaissance 140 monoblocks (sixteen 300-B's) or a VAC 70/70 (eight 300-B's) for almost nine years - they have been completely trouble-free. Having an amp that, if I may quote you, "is designed properly" is the key - cheap tube amps do not play in your league.
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
How do you reliably diagnose the bad or failing tubes for replacement when an amp has so many tubes in use?
unsound
6,115 posts
 
Loose bass, forward midrange, bright glassy upper mids/lower highs, rolled off upper highs. Variable performance. Unreliable. High maintance. Difficult to get replacement parts. When they break, they offer the potential to break other links in the system. Excessive heat. Potential burns to children, pets and others. Can cause fires. Requires more care in placement. Limited to use with high impedance speakers. High cost per Watt. Greater sensitivity to speaker cables. Sensitive to vibrations.
krauti OP
46 posts
 
Every time I come back there's more. Looks like I started a small avalanche here :)

I shall take a look at the amps mentioned in the thread though so far I haven't chamged my mind. The only thing I don't like so much is the price of tubes. But at least it seems one can get them. Can't say that about ammo for my target gun (hmmm, yeah, sometimes I like things that make boom.

The other thing that does seem to crystalize is that there is somewhat of a potential for damage to the speakers if a tube says goodby in the shape of a wee supernova. Is there anything that can be done to prevent any downstream damage like additional fuses?

Well, thanks again and I shall check back later on.
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