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
sorry jafox, i should have been more specific...power tubes are fused & yes I've owned ARC where a shorted power tube took out a resistor. i can understand the CAT & ARC purist approach but not particularly user friendly imo.
I have never owned any tube gear and I think I'll never will. Tube amps have to much much of a own sound signature. They may have sound beautiful and lush and warm. But when I play some ear bleeding trash metal I don't want a full bodied liquid warm sound. I want ear shattering screaming highs, window shattering lows. etc.

I know I am a bit over the top, but to my ears tube have a tendency to make music more listener friendly/warmer/more lush then the music really is. Maybe, just maybe a tube pre-amp would be acceptable but tubes to not belong in power amps.

Also tube gear of equal quality to ss gear is more expensive. You can buy a decent integrated ss amp for $1000 I don't know any decent tube integrated amp for $1000
Mordante,

"Maybe, just maybe a tube pre-amp would be acceptable but tubes to not belong in power amps."

Given your musical tastes, to which I wander as well on occasion, I strongly recommend trying this approach based on my experiences in the land of tube audio gear thus far if you feel motivated to give some tube gear a try. You might also consider a tube DAC if digital is a main source for you.
Please dont buy a tube amp, thus leaving more tubes for me...seriously though if you havent experience a tube (anything) particularly an amp then get yourself down to your local Hi-Fi shop and listen. After this all should be clear. I have been building and buying tube amps for some 40 years now and have not experienced any major issues (in fact it was a large major manufacturers SS that took out a pair of speaks. I have no idea what "unsound" is on, clearly some bad experiences but not all of us have these. Buy from a good manufacturer sit back and listen and enjoy the MUSIC