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People who are Irrationally Afraid of tube amps

Recently I've had a tube amp For Sale on this site. It's a well respected, great amp from a major mfg. I've owned it for 3 years, with absolutely no problems, only enjoyment. I'm only selling it because I sold the speakers I used it with, & my current speakers are a lot more power-hungry. And it's the 2nd tube amp I've owned, my first being a really early model VTL ST-85 that was several years old when I bought it, then I had it for 5 years, & the only problem I had in all that time was replacing a fuse once. And I know almost nothing about electronics, but I learned how to use a multi-meter & successfully biased & replaced tubes in both amps.

Here's the thing: Almost every person who has written to me about my amp for sale asks a zillion questions, you know the routine, e-mails back & forth, then finally says they are too freaked out at the possibility of replacing tubes someday to buy it, whining about the (relatively modest) expense, etc. (And my amp has new tubes!!). Now, these queries are from presumably experienced A'goners because most of them have a large no. of positive feedback ratings here. I mean, we're not dealing with the average shopper at Circuit City, presumably.

My questions are: 1. Why do experienced A'goners waste so much time shopping for tube gear if they're freaked out over the potential traumatic effect that replacing tubes may have on them someday? There's plenty of SS gear FS if that's what they want. 2. Why do many even relatively experienced audiophiles still believe in the "tube hassles" myth? 3. Are there no tube afficiandos who are willing to put up with a minor inconvience every few years?

I feel like putting a warning in the next ad I run for a tube amp: WARNING: THIS DEVICE CONTAINS HIGHLY VOLATILE "TUBES", WHICH MAY BLOW AT ANY SECOND & COULD DESTROY YOUR ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD! USE AT YOUR OWN PERIL, PREFERABLY IN A NON-POPULATED AREA. EVEN IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU, THE TRAUMA OF REPLACING THE "TUBES" SOMEDAY COULD REQUIRE YEARS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, & MAY BANKRUPT YOU & YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY.

Well, at least that might discourage the "tire kickers". Now, if I could just afford those Cary 805C mono-blocs I've been wanting for years........& thanks for listening to my rant!
steveaudio
slappy
903 posts
 
Its probably a lack of knowledge about tube gear.

When im able to get a good 2ch system ive been debating on going with Conrad Johnson Tube equipment, or going cheaper and buying a Krell 300i, Running some GMA Europas with either.

Im leaning more twards the Krell because i like/trust/know SS gear. I dont PREFER it because i never heard tube gear, but tubes gear looks like fun. Albeit, more maintenance is required, but im sure there is a payoff.

If i do end up getting some tube gear, i might very well opt to buy some bottlehead kits and do it that way. It would be a good learning experience and would get me into tube gear without going broke.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
The high voltages running around in tube amps cause capacitors, both in the power supply and between amplification stages to degrade. Of course tubes degrade.

Reliability, both with regard to performance specs and physical damage, is certainly affected by the degree of skill and care taken in the design and manufacture of the unit, be it tube or solid state, but success is harder to achieve with tubes.

Except for a few audiophiles, transistors have replaced tubes. There must be a reason.
tubegroover
2,279 posts
 
"Except for a few audiophiles, transistors have replaced tubes. There must be a reason"

Except for most audiophiles, 1 out of 3 still use tubes. There must be a reason. Judging by many of the above responses and in other threads, it is fear. To those that have and prefer SS, isn't it great that we have choices? And to those that HAVE experienced a cutting edge tube design, the caveats really don't matter.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Tubegroover...If you define an "audiophile" as someone who uses tube equipment, you can say that 100 percent of audiophiles use tube equipment. I have experienced the "cutting edge" of tube design, but the wounds are almost completely healed.

Seriously, I think that we all agree that the best tube equipment, when maintained in tip-top condition is arguably the best. However, the financial investment both for purchase and for maintenance cannot be justified by most people, especially when there is so much good SS equipment available. To use an analogy: a Ferrari is a wonderful performance car, but most people couldn't put up with the constant expensive tweeking needed to keep it running, and they find that a Honda is more satisfactory overall.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,490 posts
 
Solid state wears out too,I would rather own old tube gear than old solid state at least you can repair the old tube gear + it holds its value better.Output transistors need replacement after about 10-15 years or so[ask any vintage krell owner ] they degrade over time but unlike a tube amp you cant just plug in new ones.New tubes means a near fresh amp.I have gone back and forth between high quality tube and solid state gear always come back to tubes .Happy listening
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