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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
wireless200
415 posts
 
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. I know the size was one issue but you stated routine troubleshooting as "a lot [of work]"

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1233341924&openfrom&12&4#12
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
Ralph, thanks for the info on the tube sockets for the 6c33 tubes; I do not know what type of sockets the amps have. I certainly do notice how hot these tubes get. What's your view of tube coolers; something like the Pearl coolers from Parts ConneXion?
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.
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,033 posts
 
Tube electronics is great, but it has to be done right when it should work reliable. Not all can do this.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Just for kicks, and to test this thread, I dug out an ancient (well, it was 15+yrs old when I bought it) tube preamp, which I had not touched in a couple of years (27mos to be exact) since my last move, partly because it was boxed up waiting to go off and get modded if I could ever find the modder, partly because I was using my DAC as a pre.

The tube pre fired up beautifully. I waited for the little green light on the power supply, and then the green light on the pre itself, and then volume up...

It is not leaving my system again. It is beautiful. I cannot believe it was out of my system this long. I had to report this on this thread. Now I am going back to listen to the rest of Side1, then Side 2, then...
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