1. Home
  2. amps-preamps
  3. 1234362825

Tired of Problems with Tube Equipment

I switched over to tube audio equipment in some form some years back, and have certainly enjoyed music played back through them. I have had amps, preamps, and DACS at different times utilizing tubes. One unfortunate thing that's been common to all the tube equipment I've had are problems. It doesn't seem to matter whether the manufacturer is large or small, built in the USA or overseas, they all have had problems. Capacitors blowing out, bad solder joints, tubes only lasting a short time, loud pops that mysteriously go away on their own, etc. Although I have enjoyed the sound (and that beautiful glow!), I am starting to get tired of this and thinking of going back to solid state.

Have any of you also gone back (or thought about it) to solid state for this reason? What has your experience been with the reliability of tube equipment?
smeyers

Showing 8 responses by tvad

tvad
9,467 posts
 
I have owned a fair amount of tube equipment: preamps, amplifiers, and sources. None have had any problems other than normal tube issues.

Troubleshooting and finding quiet tubes can be a hassle, but it's worth the effort to many people.

The only amplifiers that I have owned that are worthy of replacing tube amps have Class A topology.

I have not owned a 100% solid state preamp that has been worthy of replacing a tube preamp, or in the case of what I presently own a solid state preamp with a tube power supply. However, my experience with solid state preamps has been limited and has not included any state-of-the-art units.

I will shortly be auditioning a SOTA solid state preamp, so we'll see...

Anyway, the answer to your question is that the tube equipment I have owned has been reliable: VAC, Lamm, Moscode, Atma-Sphere, Modwright.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
BMW cars are like tube gear.

Both can be high maintenance items, yet both can provide lots of enjoyment that makes their potentially inordinate maintenance issues/costs worthwhile.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
A couple of years ago, I bought new (demo) speakers that I thought were tube friendly. This was based on several reviews I had read, and on comments from some audio friends.

Turned out the speakers were not tube friendly to the degree I wanted.

Still, I like the speakers, so I ended up buying Class A solid state amplification that matches well with the speakers.

Having said that, if I had to do it all over again, I'd buy tube friendly speakers (knowing much more now about this issue than I did two years ago), and I'd drive them with tube amps. I still might use a solid state preamp, though. Not certain...

This whole adventure is a learning experience, isn't it?
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Dodgealum, I have owned three BMWs:1997 Z3, 2000 540i, 2003 330i. All have had substantial and costly maintenance and/or repair issues beyond what I have experienced with other autos.

If you read Consumer Reports, you will also see that BMW autos have a higher incidence of repairs and maintenance than many other brands.

So, I hope you will understand that my analogy was based primarily on my own personal experience with late model BMW cars. I have no doubt there are many BMW owners like yourself who have had years and years of trouble free ownership.

As usual, making non-audio analogies in these threads generates opposing commentary that ultimately is of little value. I wish I hadn't brought it up, and I'm hoping this tangential discussion dies quickly.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Husk01, I'll perhaps share more on this topic later, but for now I'm not going to comment on the specifics.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
02-11-09: Ras422
This thread is all about personal preference

Actually, I believe this thread is about experiences with reliability of tube amps. The topic has nothing to do with personal preference regarding the sound of tube versus solid state.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Rhljazz, our home repairs cost substantially less than our car repairs by a fair margin.

$500 for a leaking toilet?

I've fixed all our leaking toilets myself. Replaced tanks, valves, and complete toilets. The cost of parts is shockingly low compared with a plumber's labor. Worth learning how to do it if one's penurious. Pretty simple, really. But, I completely understand that many people don't want to deal with it.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
02-13-09: Wireless200
02-11-09: Tvad
[...] Anyway, the answer to your question is that the tube equipment I have owned has been reliable: VAC, Lamm, Moscode, Atma-Sphere, Modwright.

Tvad, are you sure? In another thread we discussed this because you said you'd ditched a couple of tube amps due to maintenance issues.

In the thread you linked here, I stated the Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp had 18 tubes and for me, due to my installation requirements, tracking down a bad tube was a hassle.

That's one preamp, not a couple amps as you stated.

Furthermore, the OP commented about bad capacitors, solder joints and tubes.

I consider tube maintenance a part of tube amp ownership. I don't consider tube maintenance a problem with reliability of tubes amps.

Hope this clears this up.
More to discover